DEBATERS'  HANDBOOK  SERIES 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE 


DEBATERS' 
HANDBOOK  SERIES 

Debaters'  Manual 

Capital  Punishment    (2d  ed.  rev.) 

Commission  Plan  of  Municipal  Govern- 
ment (3d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Central  Bank  of  the  United  States 

Child  Labor    (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Compulsory  Arbitration  of  Industrial  Dis- 
putes (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Compulsory  Insurance 

Conservation  of  Natural  Resources 

Direct  Primaries    (3d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Election  of  United  States  Senators  (2d  ed. 
rev.) 

Employment  of  Women 

Federal  Control  of  Interstate  Corporations 
(2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Free  Trade  vs.  Protection 

Government  Ownership  of  Railroads  (2d 
ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Government  Ownership  of  Telegraph  and 
Telephone 

Immigration 

Income  Tax    (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl. ) 

Initiative  and  Referendum  (3d  ed.  rev. 
and  enl.) 

Monroe  Doctrine     (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Mothers'  Pensions 

Municipal  Ownership  (2d  ed.  rev.  and 
enl.) 

National  Defense 

Open  versus  Closed  Shop     (2d  ed.) 

Parcels  Post    (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Prohibition 

Recall    (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

Reciprocity 

Single  Tax 

Trade  Unions 

Unemployment 

Woman  Suffrage    (3d  ed.  rev.) 

World  Peace     (2d  ed.  rev.  and  enl.) 

HANDBOOK  SERIES 

Agricultural  Credit 
European  War.    Two  volumes 
Short  Ballot 
Socialism 

Other  titles  in  preparation 

Each  volume,  one  dollar  net 


Debaters9    Handbook    Series 


SELECTED  ARTICLES 


ON 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE 


COMPILED  BY 
EDITH   M.  PHELPS 


Third  and  Revised  Edition 


THE  H.  W.  WILSON  COMPANY 
WHITE  PLAINS,  N.  Y.  and  NEW  YORK  CITY 

1916 


Published,  1910 
Second  Edition,  1912 
Third  Edition,  1916 


EXPLANATORY   NOTE 

Although  Woman  Suffrage  has  been  discussed  for  many 
years,  interest  in  the  subject  has  increased  rather  than  dimin- 
ished, and  it  is  in  response  to  the  continued  demand  for 
reference  material  that  this  third  edition  of  the  Debaters' 
Handbook  has  been  published.  Similar  to  the  other  volumes 
of  the  Series,  this  handbook  contains  a  brief,  a  bibliography 
and  reprints  of  the  best  available  material  both  in  favor  of 
and  opposed  to  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  women.  For  the 
sake  of  convenience,  the  material  for  the  second  edition  has 
been  left  in  its  original  arrangement,  and  the  new  matter  has 
been  added  in  the  form  of  a  supplement.  The  bibliography 
has  been  grouped  in  two  parts,  the  references  added  for  the 
third  edition  being  placed  in  a  separate  alphabet.  This  will 
enable  the  user  of  this  volume  to  select  the  more  recent 
references  only  if  desired.  The  reprints  included  in  the  second 
edition  have  been  left  in  the  original  form,  and  are  grouped 
under  three  headings,  General  Discussion,  Affirmative  Discussion 
and  Negative  Discussion.  The  new  reprints,  added  especially 
for  this  edition,  are  placed  at  the  end  of  the  book  under  the 
heading  Supplementary  Material  for  the  Third  Edition.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  consult  both  sections  in  obtaining  facts 
and  statistics  for  use  in  debate.  The  Introduction  has  been 
carefully  revised  for  this  edition,  and  a  map  has  been  added. 

E.  M.  P HELPS. 
December  31,  1915. 


331782 


CONTENTS 


BRIEF 


Introduction  xi 

Affirmative  xi 

Negative   xiv 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  FOR  SECOND  EDITION 

Bibliographies   xvii 

General  References  xvii 

Affirmative  References   xxiii 

Negative  References    - xxx 

ADDITIONAL  REFERENCES  FOR  THIRD  EDITION 

Bibliographies    xxxvii 

Periodicals    xxxvii 

General  References   xxxviii 

Affirmative  References  xlii 

Negative  References  xliv 

MAP xlviii 

INTRODUCTION  I 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION 

Blackwell,  Alice  S.  Gains  in  Equal  Suffrage 5 

Anthony,   Susan  B.  Woman's    Half-Century    of    Evolution 

North  American   Review      8 

Harper,    Ida   H.    World    Movement    for   Woman    Suffrage 

Review  of  Reviews     15 

Harper,  Ida  H.    Woman  Suffrage  in  Six  States 

Independent    26 

Harper,  Ida  H.    Votes  for  Women Harper's  Bazar    33 

Harper,  Ida  H.    Votes  for  Women Harper's  Bazar    35 

Portugal  Gives  Votes  to  Women Woman's  Journal    36 


viii  CONTENTS 

AFFIRMATIVE  DISCUSSION 

Denney,  Joseph  V.    Votes  for  Women  Should  Be  Granted 

Woman's  Journal  39 

Phillips,  Mrs.  Elsie  C.    Statement 

United  States  Senate  Hearings  41 

Catt,  Carrie  C.    Will  of  the  People Forum  44 

Eastman,  Max.    Is  Woman  Suffrage  Important? 

North  American  Review  48 

Mead,  Edwin  D.     Suffrage  and  Soldiering 

Woman's  Journal  53 

Voting  and  Fighting 55 

Johnston,  Mary.    Woman's  War Atlantic  Monthly  58 

Borah,  William  E.     Why  I  Am  for  Suffrage    for    Women. 

Delineator  59 

Objections  to  Woman  Suffrage Harper's  Weekly  64 

Howard,  Clifford.    Man  Needs  Woman's  Ballot 67 

Brewer,  David  J.     Summing  up  the  Case  for  Woman  Suf- 
frage    68 

Addams,  Jane.     Women  and  Public  Housekeeping 70 

Fitzgerald,  Susan  W.    Women  in  the  Home 72 

Blackwell,  Alice  S.    Do  Teachers  Need  the  Ballot? 74 

Phelan,  Raymond  V.     Division    of   Labour   and   the    Ballot 

Westminster  Review  76 

Harper,  Ida  H.     Evolution  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Move- 
ment   World  To-Day  82 

Creel,  George,  and  Lindsey,  Ben  B.     Measuring    up    Equal 

Stiff  rage    Delineator  83 

Answers  Queries  Concisely Woman's  Journal  96 

Blackwell,  Alice  S.    Minnie  Bronson's  Fallacies 

Woman's  Journal  98 

Suffrage  Fills  the  Bill Woman's  Journal  101 

Blackwell,  Alice  S.    Ministers  on  Votes  for  Women 103 

Family  Suffrage  in  New  Zealand 104 

Suffrage  Helps  Homes Woman's  Journal  106 

Korff,  Alletta.    Where  Women  Vote 

National  Geographic  Magazine  109 


CONTENTS  ix 

NEGATIVE  DISCUSSION 

Jones,   Mrs.    Gilbert   E.      Some   Facts   About    Suffrage   and 

And- Suffrage    Forum  113 

Dwight,  Frederick.    Taxation  and  Suffrage 119 

Root,  Elihu.     Address  before  the  New  York  State  Consti- 
tutional Convention 120 

Brown,  Ex-Justice.    Woman  Suffrage 121 

Cope,  Edward  D.    Relation  of  the  Sexes  to.  Government 123 

Knapp,  Adeline.    Problem  of  Woman  Suffrage 129 

Knapp,  Adeline.    Do  Working  Women  Need  the  Ballot? 131 

Chittenden,  Alice    H.    Inexpediency  of   Granting  the   Suf- 
frage to  American  Women 134 

Facts  and  Fallacies  about  Woman  Suffrage 140 

Why  the  Home  Makers  Do  not  Want  to  Vote 144 

Bissell,  Emily  P.    Talks  to  Women  on  the  Suffrage  Question  145 

Women  Voters'  Views  on  Woman's  Suffrage Outlook  151 

Woman  Suffrage  and  Child  Labor  Legislation 152 

George,  Mrs.  A.  J.    Address  before  the  Brooklyn  Auxiliary.  154 

SUPPLEMENTARY  MATERIAL  FOR  THE  THIRD  EDITION 

Bjorkman,  Frances  M.  and  Porritt,  Annie  G.  Where  Women 

Vote     163 

Harper,   Ida  Husted.     A   Brief  History  of  the  Movement  for 

Woman   Suffrage  in  the  United  States 181 

Harper,  Ida  Husted.    Danish  Women  Win Independent  183 

Byrnes,  Elinor,  and  Ranlett,  Helen  A.     Man  and  Woman- 
Made  Laws  of  the  Suffrage  States 186 

Effect  of  Vote  of  Women  on  Legislation 202 

Abbott,  Edith.    Are  Women  a  Force  for  Good  Government? 
National  Municipal  Review  213 

Palmer,  Robert,  and  Scott,  A.  McCallum.     Woman  Suffrage 

at  Work  in  America Nineteenth  Century  222 

Frodsham,  George  Horsfall.     Women's  Parliamentary  Fran- 
chise in  Practice Nineteenth  Century  243 

Harper,  Ida  Husted.     A  National  Amendment  for  Woman 

Suffrage  253 

Breckinridge,  S.  P.    Political  Equality  for  Women  and  Wo- 
men's Wages Annals  of  the  American  Academy  262 


BRIEF 

Resolved,  That  the  women  of  the  United  States  should 
be  granted  the  suffrage  on  the  same  terms  as  men. 

INTRODUCTION 

I.     The  granting  of  educational  privileges  to  women  dur- 
ing the  last  half-century  or  more  has  led  to  a  demand 
for  all  the  privileges  that  men  now  enjoy. 
II.     The  most  important  of  these  demands  is  that  for  wom- 
an suffrage. 

III.     In   many  states  and   countries   the   suffrage   has   been 
granted  to  women. 

A.  Full  suffrage. 

B.  School,  local,  or  municipal  suffrage. 

IV.  In  nearly  every  country  of  the  world  where  it  does  not 
now  exist,  women  are  agitating  for  the  suffrage  on 
the  same  terms  as  men. 

AFFIRMATIVE 

The  Affirmative  is  in  favor  of  extending  the  suffrage  to 
women,  for 
I.     Woman  suffrage  is  logical  and  just. 

A.     It  is  the  next  and  last  step  in  the  full  governmental 

recognition  of  woman  as  a  personality, 
i.     The  other  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship 

have  been  granted. 

B.     The  right  to  vote  is  based  on  the  democratic  theory 
that  each  one  shall  have  a  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment that  rules  over  his  affairs. 
I.    There  can  be  no  true  democracy  where  one- 


ii  BRIEF 

half  of  the  adult  population   is   denied   this 
privilege. 

C.     There  are  many  women  tax-payers  who  without  the 
suffrage  have  no  representation  in  the  legislation 
affecting  taxation. 
II.     Woman  suffrage  is  expedient. 
A.     For  the  state. 

1.  Women  are  well  qualified  for  the  suffrage. 

a.  The   argument  that   in   order   to   vote   one 

must  be  able  to  fight,  is  unsound. 

b.  The   percentage   of   illiterate    and   foreign- 

born  women  is  less  than  the  percentage 
of  illiterate  and  foreign-born  men. 

c.  Statistics    show    a    smaller    percentage    of 

criminals,  drunkards,  etc.,  among  women 
than  among  men. 

2.  The    participation    of    women    would    improve 

political  life. 

a.  The    influence   of   the    home   would   be   in- 

creased. 

b.  A   much   needed   element   would   be  intro- 

duced. 

c.  Better  laws   would   be   secured   and   better 

candidates  elected. 

3.  Women  are  needed  in  municipal  government. 

.  a.  Municipal  government  is  now  largely  civic 
housekeeping  to  which  women  are  espe- 
cially adapted. 

b.  Women  cannot  adequately  care  for  their 
homes  without  a  voice  in  municipal  af- 
fairs. 

i1  The  conditions  on  which  depends  the 
welfare  of  the  home  are  no  longer 
matters  of  private  concern. 

4.  The  argument  that  the  home  would  suffer  by 

the  participation   of  women  in  political  life, 
is  unsound, 
a.    Voting  takes  little  time  from  other  duties. 


BRIEF 


Xlll 


b.  Differences  of  opinion  cannot  disrupt  fami- 

lies worth  holding  together. 

c.  Family  ties  will  be  strengthened  by  the  new 

community  of  interests  which  suffrage  will 
introduce. 

5.    The  argument  that  women  will  not  vote  is  dis- 
proved by  the  facts. 
B.     For  women  themselves. 

1.  Political  knowledge  and  experience  will  develop 

women. 

a.  It   will    equip    them   more    thoroughly   for 

the  duties  of  motherhood  and  the  home. 

b.  It  will  make  them  better  fitted  for  social 

and  public  life. 

2.  It  would  be  a  benefit  to  women  legally,  politi- 

cally, and  economically. 

a.  Women  now  suffer  from  many  legal,  politi- 

cal and  industrial  inequalities  and  discrim- 
inations. 

b.  The   ballot   is    the   only   effective   way    of 

securing  equal  rights  and  privileges  with 
men. 

c.  The  argument  that  women  are  represented 

by  men  is  unsound. 

i1     Men   cannot    understand   and   legislate 
for  the  needs  of  women. 

3.  It  is  not  true  that  women  do  not  wish  to  vote. 

a.  A  large  and  constantly  increasing  number 

are  asking  for  the  privilege. 

b.  The  fact  that  some  are  apathetic  is  no  rea- 

son for  withholding  it. 
III.     The   results   of  woman   suffrage   are   favorable   to   its 

extension. 

A.     Full  suffrage  where  it  has  been  granted  has  been 
successful. 

1.  Better  candidates  have  been  selected. 

2.  Much  good  legislation  has  been  secured. 

3.  The  elections  have  been  more  orderly. 


xiv  BRIEF 

4.  The  best  women  have  voted. 

5.  The  character  of  women  has  not  deteriorated. 

6.  The  home  has  been  benefitted. 

7.  Interest  in  the  study  of  political  questions  has- 

been  aroused. 

B.  Municipal  and  school  suffrage  have  been  successful. 

C.  An  extension  of  the  suffrage  has  generally  followed 

its  adoption. 

NEGATIVE 

The  Negative  is  not  in  favor  of  extending  the  suffrage  to 
women,  for 

I.     Women  cannot  claim  the  vote  on  the  ground  of  justice. 

A.  It  is  not  a  natural  or  inherent  right. 

1.  It   is   not   so   recognized   by   the    Constitution 

and  the  Supreme  Court. 

2.  It  is  granted  for  the  good  of  the  state  and  not 

for  the  individual. 

B.  Voting  has  nothing  to  do  with  taxation. 

1.  Many  vote  who  are  not  taxed. 

2.  Many  are  taxed  who  may  not  vote. 

C.  Suffrage  is  not  a  question  of  justice,  but  of  policy 

and  expediency. 
II.     Woman  suffrage  would  not  be  expedient. 

A.     It  would  not  be  for  the  best  interests  of  society. 

1.  Women  are  unfitted  to  exercise  the  franchise. 

a.  They  are  physically  unable  to  enforce  the 

laws. 

b.  They  are  not  informed  on  public  questions. 

c.  They  are  swayed  by  sentiment  rather  than 

justice. 

2.  The  home  would  suffer  by  the  participation  of 

women  in  the  affairs  of  state. 

a.  Families  would  be  internally  divided. 

b.  The  home  would  be  neglected. 

c.  Divorce  would  be  increased, 
r     The  vote  would  be  doubled. 


BRIEF  xv 

> 
a.     Our  voting  body  is  already  too  large  and 

unwieldy  for  public  safety. 

4.     The  evil  element  in  politics  would  be  greatly 
increased. 

a.  Many  good  women  would  be  indifferent. 

b.  The  bad  women  would  vote. 

B.     It  would  not  be  for  the  best  interests  of  women 
themselves. 

1.  Socially. 

a.  Their  power  to  influence   good   legislation 

would  be  impaired. 

b.  They  would  be  made  less  womanly. 

c.  They  would  lose  the  respect  of  men. 

2.  Politically. 

a.  Women  have  many  legal  rights  and  privi- 

leges which  they  would  lose  if  they  could 
vote. 

b.  The    laws    for    women    are    no    better    in 

suffrage  states  than  elsewhere. 

3.  Industrially. 

a.  Women    now    have    every    opportunity    to 

engage  in  industry. 

b.  Wages  are  regulated  by  the  law  of  supply 

and  demand  and  not  by  the  ballot. 
III.     Woman  suffrage  is  unnecessary. 

A.  Women  will  not  gain  anything  by  the  suffrage  that 

they  cannot  get  without. 

B.  All    the   legal    and    educational    advantages    which 

they  enjoy  have  been  gained  without  it. 
IV.     The  majority  of  women  do  not  want  it. 

A.  Many  women   are   actively  protesting  against   the 

extension  of  the  franchise. 

B.  They  show  little  interest  in  public  questions. 

C.  They   have   never   exercised   the   privilege   largely 

where  it  has  been  granted. 
V.     The   results   of  the   suffrage   where  it   exists   are   not 

favorable  to  its  extension. 

A.     Suffrage  has  accomplished  little  where  it  has  been 
tried. 


xvi  BRIEF 

1.  The  position  of  women  has  not  improved. 

2.  It  has  not  resulted  in  purifying  politics. 

3.  Better  laws  have  not  been  passed,  nor  better 

candidates  elected. 

B.  More  harm  than  good  has  been  done. 

C.  The  countries  and  states  where  suffrage  exists  for 

women,  are  too  small  and  unimportant  for  their 
experience  to  be  valuable. 

1.  In  regard  to  size  and  character  of  population. 

2.  The  franchise  is  mostly  a  limited  one. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  FOR  SECOND  EDITION 

An  asterisk  (*)  preceding  a  reference  indicates  that  the  entire 
article  or  a  part  of  it  has  been  reprinted  in  this  volume.  Many 
of  the  magazine  articles  and  pamphlets  listed  here  as  well  as  simi- 
lar material  that  may  be  published  after  this  volume  is  issued,  may 
be  secured  at  reasonable  rates  from  the  Wilson  Package  Library 
operated  by  The  H.  W.  Wilson  Company. 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Brookings,  W.  Du  Bois,  and  Ringwalt,  Ralph  C.   Briefs  for 

Debate,   pp.  8-10.   Longmans,   Green   &   Co.,   New   York. 

1911. 

A  brief  is  also   included. 
National  Woman   Suffrage  Pub.    Co.,    Inc.     Catalog  and   Price 

List    of    Woman    Suffrage    Literature,    Entertainment    and 

Supplies.    505  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York  City.     May,    1915. 

Sent   free   on   request. 
Ringwalt,    Ralph    C.    Brief    on    Public    Questions,    pp.    8-16. 

Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York.  1908. 

Contains  a  brief  also. 
Robbins,   E.  Clyde.    High  School  Debate   Book.   pp.   196-203. 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago.  1911. 

Contains   a  brief   also. 
Wisconsin    University.    Woman    Suffrage.    Bull.    Serial.    No. 

214;   General   Series,    No.  22. 
A  brief  is  also  included. 

GENERAL  REFERENCES 
Books,  Pamphlets  and  Documents 

Abbott,  Edith.  Women  in  Industry;  a  Study  in  American 
Economic  History.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York.  1910. 

Allen,  William  H.  Woman's  Part  in  Government,  Whether 
She  Votes  or  Not.  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New  York.  1911. 


xviii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

*Blackwell,  Alice  S.  Gains  in  Equal  Suffrage.  2p.  pa.  National 
American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 

Bliss,  William  D.  P.,  ed.  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Re- 
form. 1908.  pp.  1295-303. 

Book  of  Woman's  Power;  with  an  Introduction  by  Ida  M. 
Tarbell.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York.  1911. 

Bryce,  James.  American  Commonwealth.  3d  ed.  Vol.  II. 
Chap.  XCIII.  Commonwealth  Publishing  Co.,  New  York. 
1908. 

Buffalo  Conference  for  Good  City  .Government  Proceed- 
ings. 1910.  pp.  317-27.  Practical  Workings  of  Woman 
Suffrage  in  Colorado  Municipalities.  Mary  Winsor. 

Clough,  Emma  R.  Study  of  Mary  Wollstonecraft  and  the 
Rights  of  Woman.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  London. 
1908. 

Hard,  William.  Women  of  To-Morrow.  Baker  &  Taylor, 
New  York.  1911. 

Harper,  Ida  H.  Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  Anthony.  3v. 
1899-1908.  National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n, 
New  York. 

Hecker,  Eugene  A.  Short  History  of  Women's  Rights  from 
the  Days  of  Augustus  to  the  Present  Time.  rev.  ed.  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.  1914. 

Howe,  Julia  Ward.  Reminiscences,  p.  372-99.  Houghton,  Mif- 
flin  &  Co.,  Boston.  1899. 

Jones,  Chester  L.  Readings  on  Parties  and  Elections  in  the 
United  States,  pp.  232-43.  The  Macmillan  Co,  New  York. 
1912. 

Lecky,  William  E.  H.  Democracy  and  Liberty.  Vol.  II.  pp. 
504-59.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York.  1896. 

New  International  Encyclopedia.  Woman's  Suffrage. 

New  York  Constitutional  Convention.  Debates  on  Woman 
Suffrage.  1894. 

Ostrogorski,  Moisei  I.  Rights  of  Women.  Chas.  Scribner's 
Sons,  New  York. 

Pankhurst,  E.  Sylvia.  Suffragette:  The  History  of  the  Wom- 
en's Militant  Suffrage  Movement,  1905-1910.  Sturgis  & 
Walton,  New  York.  1911. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xix. 

Reeves,  William  P.  State  Experiments  in  Australia  and  New 
Zealand.  Chap.  III.  E.  P.  Button  &  Co.,  New  York.  1903. 

Rembaugh,  Bertha,  comp.  Political  Status  of  Women  in  the 
United  States;  a  Digest  of  the  Laws  concerning  Women 
in  the  Various  States  and  Territories.  G.  P.  Putnam's 
Sons,  New  York.  1911. 

Schreiner,  Olive.  Woman  and  Labor.  2d  ed.  Frederick  A. 
Stokes  Co.,  New  York.  1911. 

Squire,  Belle.  Woman  Movement  in  America.  A.  C.  Mc- 
Clurg  &  Co.,  Chicago.  1911. 

Stanton,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady.  Eighty  Years  and  More.  T. 
Fisher  Unwin,  London.  1898. 

Stanton,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady,  and  Others.  History  of  Wom- 
an Suffrage.  4v.  National  American  Woman  Suffrage 
Ass'n,  New  York. 

Suniner,  Helen  L.  Equal  Suffrage:  Results  of  an  Investiga- 
tion in  Colorado  Made  for  the  Collegiate  Equal  Suffrage 
League  of  New  York  State.  Harper  &  Brothers,  New 
York.  1909. 

*United  States.  Senate.  Hearings  before  a  Joint  Committee 
of  the  Committee  of  the  Judiciary  and  the  Committee  on 
Woman  Suffrage,  March  13,  1912.  Gov.  Ptg.  Office.  1912. 

Magazine  Articles 

American  Magazine.  70:  60-73.  My.  '10.  American  Woman: 
After  the  War.  Ida  M.  Tarbell. 

American  M&gazine.  69:  468-81.  F.  '10.  American  Woman: 
Her  First  Declaration  of  Independence.  Ida  M.  Tarbell. 

American  Magazine.  72:  611-9.  S.  '11.  Getting  Out  the  Vote. 
Helen  M.  Todd. 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  35:  sup.  1-37.  My.  '10.  Sig- 
nificance of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement. 
Contains   seven   papers,   four   in   favor   of   woman   suffrage   and 

three  against. 

Arena.  41:  414-24.  Jl.  '09.  Suffrage  Question  in  the  Far  West. 
Elsie  W.  Moore. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  102:  343-6.  S.  '08.  English  Working-Wom- 
an and  the  Franchise.  Edith  Abbott. 

Canadian  Magazine.  19:  81-2.  My.  '02.  Woman  Suffrage  in 
Colorado. 


*x  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Chautauquan.  13:  72-7.  Ap.  '91.  A  Symposium — Woman's  Suf- 
frage. 

Consists  of  four  papers — two  for  the  affirmative  by  Lucy  Stone 
and  Frances  E.  Willard,  and  two  for  the  negative  by  Rose  Terry 
Cooke  and  Josephine  Henderson. 

Chautauquan.  34:  482-4.  F.  '02.  Woman  Suffrage  in  Colorado. 
William  M.  Raine. 

Chautauquan.  58:  97-108.  Mr.  '10.  Woman  Suffrage  Movement 
in  Great  Britain.  Mrs.  Philip  Snowden. 

Chautauquan.  58:  166-83.  Ap.  '10.  Social  Idealism  and  Suffrage 
for  Woman.  George  W.  Cooke. 

Chautauquan.  59:  69-83.  Je.  '10.  Woman  Suffrage  Movement. 

Chautauquan.  59:  84-9.  Je.  '10.  New  York  State  Association 
Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage.  Mrs.  Barclay  Hazard. 

Collier's.  48:  20.  O.  28,  '11.  Co-Citizens  of  California.  Bertha 
D.  Knobe. 

Collier's.  48:  17-8.  Ja.  6,  '12.  Women's  Demonstration:  How 
They  Won  and  Used  the  Vote  in  California.  Mabel  C. 
Deering. 

Collier's.  49:  13.  My.  18,  '12.  Women  March.  Mary  A.  Hopkins. 

Columbian.  3:  27.  O.  '10.  Governor  Spry  of  Utah,  on  Woman 
Suffrage. 

Delineator.  74 :  204.  S.  '09.  Being  a  Woman  Legislator.  Alma 
V.  Lafferty. 

Delineator.  74 :  299.  O.  '09.  Recollections  of  a  Woman  Cam- 
paigner. Minnie  J.  Reynolds. 

Delineator.  75:  37-8,  70.  Ja.  '10.  Suffrage  Enters  the  Drawing- 
Room.  Mabel  P.  Daggett. 

Delineator.  77:  270.  Ap.  '11.  Where  the  Women  Made  Good. 
W.  Farmer  Whyte  and  Sarah  W.  MacConnell. 

Fortnightly  Review.  88:  890-902.  N.  '10.  Government  and 
Woman  Suffrage.  Teresa  Billington-Greig. 

Fortnightly  Review.  96:  328-35.  Ag.  'n.  French  Woman  and 
the  Vote.  Charles  Dawbarn. 

Forum.  17:  413-24.  Je.  '94.  Results  of  the  Woman-Suffrage 
Movement.  Mary  A.  Greene. 

Forum.  43:  264-6.  Mr.  '10.  Woman  Suffrage  as  It  Looks  To- 
day. Mrs.  Oliver  H.  P.  Belmont. 

Forum.  47:  451-61.  Ap.  '12.  Stumbling  Block  in  English  Poli- 
tics. H.  E.  Mahood. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxi 

Harper's  Bazar. 

Nearly  all  the  monthly  numbers,   from  January,   1909,   to  Sep- 
tember, 1912,  contain  articles  by  Ida  H.  Harper  and  others. 

*Harper's  Bazar.  46:  148.  Mr.  '12.  Votes  for  Women..  Ida  H. 

Harper. 
*Harper's  Bazar.  46:  258.  My.  '12.  Votes  for  Women.  Ida  H. 

Harper. 
Harper's  Weekly.  48:   121-2.   Ja.  23,   '04.   Women  Voters  in 

Australia. 
Harper's  Weekly.  51:  975-6.  Jl.  6,  '07.  Improved  Prospects  of 

Woman  Suffrage. 
Harper's  Weekly.  52:  20-1.  Ap.  25,  '08.  Votes  for  Women: 

An  Object  Lesson.  Bertha  D.  Knobe. 

Harper's  Weekly.  53:  5.  My.  I,  '09.  Pope  on  Equal  Suffrage. 
Harper's   Weekly.   53:    10.   Je.    12,   '09.   Norway's   Leader  of 

Women.  Hanna  A.  Larsen. 
Harper's  Weekly.  53:  28.  Ag.  21,  '09.  How  Woman  Suffrage 

Came  to  Wyoming.  Estelline  Bennett. 
Harper's  Weekly.  54:  8.  S.  10,  '10.  Women's  War  in  England. 

Sydney  Brooks. 
Hibbert  Journal.  8:  721-38.  Jl.  '10.  Woman  Suffrage:  Review 

and  Conclusion.  W.  M.  Childs. 
Independent.  56:    1309-11.   Je.  9,   '04.   Women's   Suffrage   In 

Australia.  Lady  Holder. 
Independent.  61:   198-9.  Jl.  26,  '06.  Object  Lesson.  Alice  S. 

Blackwell. 

Independent.  63:  615-7.  S.   12,  '07.  Women  in  the  Finnish  Par- 
liament. Baroness  Gripenberg. 
Independent.  66:  1056-70.  My.  20,  '09.  Woman  Suffrage:  An 

Experience  Meeting. 
Independent.   67:    418-20.   Ag.    19,    '09.   Woman    Suffrage    in 

South  Africa.  Irene  M.  Ashby-Macfadyen. 
Independent.  68:  1442-5.  Je.  30,  '10.  Woman  Suffrage  in  Great 

Britain.  Ida  H.  Harper. 
Independent.  68:  686-9.  Mr.  31,  '10.  How  Can  Women  Get  the 

Suffrage?  Mrs.  Oliver  H.  P.  Belmont. 

Independent.  69:  32-4.  Jl.  7,  '10.  Woman  Movement  in  Eng- 
land and  in  America.  Dora  B.  Montefiore. 


xxii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Independent.    69:    1109-10.    Nov.    17,    '10.    Fifth    Star    in    the 

Woman's  Flag. 

Independent.  71:  804-10.  O.  12,  'n.  Spectacular  Woman  Suf- 
frage in  America.  Bertha  D.  Knobe. 
*Independent.  71:  967-70.  N.  2,  'n.  Woman  Suffrage  in  Six 

States.  Ida  H.  Harper. 

Independent.  71:  1104-5.  N.  16,  'n.  Crumbs  for  Women. 
Independent.  72:  399-403.  F.  22,  '12.  Woman  Suffrage  Crisis 

in  Great  Britain.  Ida  H.  Harper. 
Independent.   72:   835-7.    Ap.    18,   '12.    Argument   of    Broken 

Windows.  Annie  G.  Porritt. 
Lippincott's.  85:   123-5.  Ja.  '10.  Leaven  of  Woman  Suffrage 

'Round  the  World.  George  A.  England. 
Nineteenth    Century.   56:   833-41.    N.   '04.    Check   to   Woman 

Suffrage  in  the  United  States.  Frank  Foxcroft. 

This  article  may  be  obtained  in  pamphlet  form  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Massachusetts  Association  opposed  to  further  extension 
of  suffrage  to  women. 

Nineteenth    Century.    71:    372-7.    F.    '12.    Legal    Position    of 
Women  in  Norway.  J.  Castberg. 

*North  American  Review.  175:  800-10.  D.  '02.  Woman's  Half- 
Century  of  Evolution.  Susan  B.  Anthony. 

North  American  Review.   183:   1272-9.  D.  21,  '06.  Australian 
Woman  and  the  Ballot.  Alice  Henry. 

North  American  Review.  183:  1333-5.  D.  21,  '06.  Good  Women 
a  Majority. 

North  American  Review.  186:  55-71.  S.  '07.  Woman  Suffrage 
Throughout  the  World.  Ida  H.  Harper. 
Reprinted  in  condensed  form  in  the  Review  of  Reviews.  36:  481-2. 

October,  1907. 

Outlook.    82:    167-78.    Ja.    27,    '06.  .How    Woman's    Suffrage 

Works  in  Colorado.  Lawrence  Lewis. 
Outlook.   83:   675-6.   Jl.   21,   '06.   Woman   Suffrage.   Florence 

Kelly. 
Outlook.  87:  35-9.  S.  7,  '07.  Woman  Suffrage  in  Finland.  G. 

H.  Blakeslee. 
Outlook.  95:  117-22.  My.  21,  '10.  Where  the  Women  Vote.  P. 

Kennaday. 
Outlook.    100 :    262-6.    F.    3,   '12.    Women's   Rights;   and   the 

Duties  of  Both  Men  and  Women.  Theodore  Roosevelt. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxiii 

Review  of  Reviews.  35:  499-500.  Ap.  '07.  Finland's  Women 

to  the  Front. 
Review  of  Reviews.  42:  361-2.  S.  '10.  Ought  French  Women 

to  Vote? — What  Some  Leading  Frenchmen  Think. 
Westminster  Review.  169:  29-40.  Ja.  '08.  Justice  Between  the 

Sexes.  Elizabeth  C.  Wolstenholme  Elmy. 
Westminster   Review.    170:   629-42.   D.   '08.    Woman   and  the 

State.  F.  W.  Hatton  Reed. 
Westminster  Review.   173:   511-5.   My.   '10.  Year's  Work   of 

the  National  Women's  Social  and  Political  Union.  Adriel 

Vere. 
Westminster   Review.   174:   508-13.   N.  '10.   Mr.   Asquith  and 

the  Women's  Liberal  Federation. 
^Woman's  Journal.  43:  97.  Mr.  30,  '12.  China  Grants  Woman 

Suffrage. 
*Woman's  Journal.  43:  223.  Jl.  27,  '12.  Portugal  Gives  Votes 

to  Women. 
World  To-Day.  11:  1264-8.  D.  '06.  Present  Status  of  Woman 

Suffrage.  Ida  H.  Harper. 

World  To-Day.  13:  1008-12.  O.  '07.  Electing  Women  to  Par- 
liament. Ida  H.  Harper. 

World  To-Day.   15:   1066-71.  O.  '08.   Suffragists  and   Suffra- 
gettes. Winnifred  H.  Cooley. 
*  World  To-Day.  19:  1017-21.  S.  '10.  Evolution  of  the  Woman 

Suffrage  Movement.  Ida  H.  Harper. 
World  To-Day.  21:  1055-60.  S.  'n.  Woman  Suffrage  in  New 

Zealand.  Theresa  H.  Russell. 
World's  Work.  17:  11419-20.  Ap.  '09.  What  Woman  Suffrage 

Does. 

The   conclusions  of  Judge   Lindsey   concerning  woman   suffrage 
in  Colorado. 

World's  Work.  22:  14733-45.  Ag.  'n.  Recent  Strides  of  Wom- 
an's Suffrage.  Bertha  D.  Knobe. 

AFFIRMATIVE  REFERENCES 
Books,  Pamphlets  and  Documents 

Addams,  Jane.  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace,  p.  180-208.     The  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  New  York.  1906. 


xxiv  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

*Addams,  Jane.  Women  and  Public  Housekeeping.  2p.  pa. 
National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 

Barnes,  Earl.  Woman  in  Modern  Society.  B.  W.  Huebsch, 
New  York.  1902. 

*Blackwell,  Alice  S.  Do  Teachers  Need  the  Ballot?  4p.  pa. 
National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 

*Blackwell,  Alice  S.  Ministers  on  Votes  for  Women.  2p.  pa. 
National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 

*Brewer,  David  J.  Summing  up  the  Case  for  Woman  Suf- 
frage. 2p.  pa.  National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n. 
New  York. 

Congressional  Record.  18:  34-8.  D.  8,  '86.  Joint  Resolution 
Proposing  an  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  Extending  the  Right  of  Suffrage  to  Women. 
Speech  Delivered  by  Henry  W.  Blair. 

Curtis,  George  W.  Orations  and  Addresses,  edited  by  Charles 
Eliot  Norton.  Vol.  i,  pp.  181-213.  Right  of  Suffrage.  Har- 
per &  Brothers,  New  York.  1894. 
An   address    given   before   the   constitutional    convention   of   the 

State  of  New  York,  at  Albany,  in  1867,   following  the  proposal  of 

an  amendment  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage. 

Dorr,  Rheta  C.  What  Eight  Million  Women  Want.  pp.  287- 

318.  Small,  Maynard  &  Co.,  Boston.  1910. 
*Family  Suffrage  in  New  Zealand.  4p.  pa.  National  American 

Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 

Fawcett,  Henry  &  Millicent  G.  Essays  and  Lectures  on  So- 
cial and  Political  Subjects,  pp.  230-91.  Macmillan  &  Co., 

London.  1872. 
*Fitzgerald,  Susan  W.  Women  in  the  Home.  4p.  pa.  National 

American  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 
Harvey,  G.  H.  Power  of  Tolerance  and  Other  Speeches,  pp. 

203-36.  Harper  &  Bros.,  New  York,  1911. 
Higginson,  Thomas  W.   Common  Sense  about  Women,  pp. 

303-403.  Lee  &  Shepard,  Boston.  1882. 
*Howard,    Clifford.    Man    Needs    Woman's    Ballot,    ip.    pa. 

Minnesota  Woman  Suffrage  Ass'n,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Jacobi,  Mary  P.  Common  Sense  Applied  to  Woman  Suffrage. 

2d  ed.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.   1915. 
Mathew,  Arnold  H.  Woman  Suffrage.  T.  C.  &  E.   C.  Jack, 

London.  1907. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxv 

Mill,  John  S.  Subjection  of  Women.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co., 

London.  1869. 
Parsons,  Frank.   Story  of  New  Zealand.   Chap.  VIII.  C.   F. 

Taylor,  Philadelphia.  1904. 
*Voting  and   Fighting.  4p.   pa.   National   American   Woman 

Suffrage  Ass'n,  New  York. 

Reports,  pamphlets  and  leaflets  may  be  obtained  from  the 
National  Woman  Suffrage  Pub.  Co.,  Inc.,  505  Fifth  Ave.,  New 
York  City.  A  catalog  will  be  sent  on  request. 


Magazine  Articles 

American  Magazine.  67:  288-90.  Ja.  '09.  Problem  of  the  Intel- 
lectual Woman.  C.  M.  H. 
Compares  the  status  of  woman  with  that  of  the  negro. 

American  Magazine.  68:  292-301.  Jl.  '09.  Votes  for  Women. 
William  I.  Thomas. 

Arena.  40:  92-4.  Jl.  '08.  Shall  Our  Mothers,  Wives  and  Sis- 
ters Be  Our  Equals  or  Our  Subjects?  Frank  Parsons. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  102:  196-202.  Ag.  '08.  What  It  Means  to  Be 
An  Enfranchised  Woman.  Ellis  Meredith. 
An  account  of  woman  suffrage  in  Colorado. 

*Atlantic  Monthly.  105:  559-70.  Ap.  '10.  Woman's  War.  Mary 
Johnston. 

Canadian  Magazine.  33:    17-21.   My.   '90.  Why   I   Am   a  Suf- 
fragette. Arthur  Hawkes. 

Century.  48:  605-13.  Ag.  '94.  Right  and  Expediency  of  Wom- 
an Suffrage.  George  F.  Hoar. 

Collier's.  48;  18.  Mr.  16,  '12.  Why  I  Want  Woman  Suffrage. 
Frederic  C.  Howe. 

Contemporary  Review.  83:   653-60.   My.  '03.  Justice  for  the 
Gander — Justice  for  the  Goose.  Frances  P.  Cobbe. 

Contemporary  Review.  94:  n-6.  Jl.  '08.  Liberalism  and  Wom- 
an's Suffrage.  Bertrand  Russell. 

Contemporary    Review,    ion    493-501.   Ap.    '12.    Sermons    in 
Stones.  Elizabeth  Robins. 

*Delineator.  76:  85,  142.  Ag.  '10.  Why  I  Am  for  Suffrage  for 
Women.  William  E.  Borah. 


xxvi  .      BIBLIOGRAPHY 

*Delineator.  77:  85-6.  F.  'n.  Measuring  up   Equal  Suffrage: 

An  Authoritative  Estimate  of  Results  in  Colorado.  George 

Creel  and  Ben  B.  Lindsey. 
Era.   10:  409-16.   O.  '02.   Equal  Suffrage  in   Colorado.   Helen 

M.  Wixson. 
Everybody's   Magazine.  21:   723-38.    D.   '09.   Why?   Elizabeth 

Robins. 
Fortnightly  Review.  89:  634-44.  Ap.  '08.  Ideals  of  a  Woman's 

Party.  Agnes  Grove. 
Fortnightly  Review.  90:  258-71.  Ag.  '08.  Sex-Disability  and 

Adult  Suffrage.  Teresa  Billington-Greig. 
Fortnightly  Review.  90:  445-57.  S.  '08.   Constitutional  Basis 

of  Women's  Suffrage.  C.  C.  Stopes. 
Forum.   43:   264-8.    Mr.   '10.    Woman   Suffrage   As   It   Looks 

To-Day.    Mrs.    Oliver   H.    P.    Belmont. 
*Forum.  43:  595-602.  Je.  '10.  Will  of  the  People.  Carrie  C. 

Catt. 
Forum.  45:  91-3.  Ja.  'n.   Platform  for  Women.   Rebecca  J. 

Lose. 
Good  Housekeeping.  54:  146-55.  F.  '12.  Feminine  Charms  of 

the  Woman  Militant.  Mary  H.  Kinkaid. 
Hampton's.  26:  426-38.  Ap.  'n.  "Women  Did  It"  in  Colorado. 

Rheta  C.  Dorr. 
Harper's  Bazar.  41:  196.  F.  '07.  Good  Women  a  Majority. 

Reprinted  in  full  from  the  North  American  Review.  183:  1333-5. 
December  21,  1906. 

Harper's  Weekly.  47:  933.  Je.  6,  '03.  Political  Women.  Mary 

G.  Hay. 
Harper's  Weekly.  50:  1702-3.  D.  i,  '06.  Positive  Arguments 

for  Woman  Suffrage. 
Harper's  Weekly.  52:  6.  Ap.  n,  '08.  Stock  Argument  against 

Woman  Suffrage. 
Harper's  Weekly.  53:  6.  Jl.  31,  '09.  Influence  not  Government. 

H.  S.  Howard. 
^Harper's   Weekly.  55:   6.  D.  2,  '11.   Objections   to  Woman 

Suffrage. 
Hibbert  Journal.  9:  275-95.  Ja.  'n.  Woman  Suffrage:  A  New 

Synthesis.  George  W.  Mullins. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxvii 

Independent.  67:  261-2.  Jl.  29,  '09.  Counter  Influence  to  Wom- 
an Suffrage. 
An  answer  to  Miss  Chittenden's  article  in  the  Independent.     67: 

246-9.     July   29,   1909. 

Independent.  68:  902-4.  Ap.  28,  '10.   President  and  the   Suf- 
fragists. Ida  H.  Harper. 

Independent.   70:    1370-1.   Je.   22,   'n.    Women   Should    Mind 
Their  Own  Business.  Edward  J.  Ward. 

Ladies'  Home  Journal.  27:  21-2.  Ja.  '10.  Why  Women  Should 
Vote.  Jane  Addams.  . 

La  Follette's.  3:  10-1.  D.  16,  '11.  Benefits  of  Woman  Suffrage. 
Anna  Blount. 

Lippincott's.  82:  101-4.  Jl.  '08.  Woman  Suffrage  in  America. 
Annie  R.  Ramsey. 

*National   Geographic   Magazine.   21:  487-93.  Je.  '10.   Where 
Women  Vote.  Alletta  Korff. 

Nineteenth   Century.  56:   105-12.  Jl.  '04.  Political  Woman  in 
Australia.  Vida  Goldstein. 

Nineteenth  Century.  61:  472-6.  Mr.  '07.  Women  and  Politics: 
A  Reply.  Eva  Gore-Booth. 
Reprinted  in  full  in  Living  Age.  253:  131-4.  April  20,  1907. 

Nineteenth    Century.    63:    819-24.    My.    '08.     Protection    of 
Women.  Jessie  P.  Margoliouth. 

Nineteenth  Century.  64:  495-506.  S.  '08.  Women  and  the  Suf- 
frage. Eva  Gore-Booth. 
Reprinted  in  full  in  Living  Age.  259:  131-40.  October  17,  1908. 

North  American  Review.  143:  371-81.  O.  '86.  Woman  Suffrage. 
Mary  A.  Livermore. 

North    American   Review.    163:   91-7.    Jl.    '96.    Why    Women 
Should  Have  the  Ballot.  John  Gibbon. 

North  American  Review.  178:  362-74.  Mr.  '04.  Would  Woman 
Suffrage  Benefit,  the  State  and  Woman  Herself?  Ida  H. 
Harper. 
An  answer  to  "Woman's  Assumption  of  Sex  Superiority."  A.  N. 

Meyer.      North  American  Review.    178:    103-9.     January,    1904. 
North  American   Review.    179:  30-41.   Jl.   '04.   Why  Women 

Cannot  Vote  in  the  United  States.  Ida  H.  Harper. 
North  American  Review.  183:  484-98.  S.  21,  '06.  Suffrage— A 
Right.  Ida  H.  Harper. 


xxviii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

North  American  Review.  183:  689-90.  O.  5,  '06.  Necessity  of 
Woman  Suffrage. 

Reprinted  in  full  in  Harper's  Bazar.  41:  34-5.  January,  1907. 
North  American  Review.  183:  830-1.  O.  19,  '06.  Women's  In- 
herent Right  to  Vote. 

Reprinted  in  full  in  Harper's  Bazar.  41:  300-1.  March,  1907. 
North  American  Review.  183:  1203-6.  D.  7,  '06.  Woman  Suf- 
frage in  Colorado. 

Reprinted  in  full  in  Harper's  Bazar.  41:  193-4.  February,  1907. 
North  American  Review.  188:  650-8.  N.  '08.  Woman  Move- 
ment in  England.  Charles  F.  Aked. 
North  American  Review.  190:  664-74.  N.  '09.  Woman's  Right 

to  Govern  Herself.  Alva  E.  Belmont. 

North  American  Review.  191:  75-86.  Ja.  '10.  Appeal  of  Poli- 
tics to  Woman.  Rosamond  L.  Sutherland. 
North  American   Review.   191:   527-36.  Ap.  '10.   Woman  and 

Democracy.  Borden  P.  Bowne. 
North  American  Review.  191:  701-20.  My.  '10.  Inherent  Right. 

G.  Harvey. 
North  American  Review.  192:  107-16.  Jl.  '10.  Woman's  Vote. 

Hugh  H.  Lusk. 
*North    American    Review.    193:    60-71.    Ja.    'n.    Is    Woman 

Suffrage  Important?  Max  Eastman. 

North  American  Review.  194:  271-81.  Ag.  'n.  Woman  Suf- 
frage. Gwendolen  Overtoil. 
North  American  Review.   195:  803-19.  Je.  '12.   Electorate  of 

Men  and  Women.  Francis  H.  Blackwell. 
Outlook.  75:  997-1000.  D.  26,  '03.  Women  in  Colorado  under 

the  Suffrage.  Mary  G.  Slocum. 

Outlook.  82:  622.  Mr.  17,  '06.  Child  Labor  and  Woman  Suf- 
frage. Florence  Kelly. 
Outlook.  85:  1002.  Ap.  27,  '07.  Plea  for  Unconscious  Slaves. 

Raymond  V.  Phelan. 

Outlook.  90:  774-5.  D.  5,  '08.  Woman  Suffrage.  I.  A.  W. 
Outlook.   91:   780-4.   Ap.   3,   '09.   Case   for   Woman   Suffrage. 

Julia  W.  Howe. 

Outlook.  99:  50-1.  S.  2,  'n.  Woman  Suffrage  on  Trial.  Wini- 
fred Smith. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxix 

Overland,  n.s.  51:  513-4.  Je.  '08.  Woman  Suffrage  Movement. 
Kate  Ames. 

Public,  ii :  77.  Ap.  24.  '08.  Demand  of  Women  for  Woman 
Suffrage. 

Public,  ii :  205-6.  My.  29,  '08.  Women  Who  Know  That  They 
Need  the  Ballot.  Jane  Addams. 
Reprinted  from  Woman's  Journal.  March  28,  '08. 

Public.  12:  393.  Ap.  23,  '09.  Heart  of  the  Suffrage  Question. 
Daniel  Kiefer. 

Public.  14:  981-2.  S.  22,  'n.  Woman  Suffrage  in  Colorado. 

Public.  14:  983-4.  S.  22,  'ii.  Theodore  Parker  on  Women  in 
Public  Affairs. 

Review   of   Reviews.    37:    484-6.    Ap.    '08.    Campaign    of   the 
English  Suffragettes. 

*Review  of  Reviews.  44:  725-9.  D.  'n.  World  Movement  for 
Woman  Suffrage.  Ida  H.  Harper. 

Survey.  28:  367-8.  Je.   i,  '12.  Votes  for  Women  and  Other 
Votes.  Jane  Addams. 

Westminster  Review.  1621.255-61.  S.  '04.  Are  Women  Ready 
for  the  Franchise?  Sarah  E.  Saville. 

Westminster   Review.    163:   266-71.   Mr.   '05.    How   the   Vote 
Has  Affected  Womanhood  in  Colorado. 

Westminster  Review.  168:  622-4.  D.  '07.  Woman  and  Sweat- 
ed Industries.  I.  D.  Pearce. 

Westminster  Review.   169:  292-8.  Mr.  '08.  Suffragists  Again! 
Gladys  Jones. 

Westminster  Review.  169:  444-51.  Ap.  '08.  Awakening  Wom- 
anhood. I.  D.  Pearce. 

Westminster    Review.    169:    523-31.    My.    '08.    Historic   Fran- 
chise. Trevor  Fletcher. 

Westminster  Review.   170:  43-53.  Jl.  '08.  Woman  Movement 
in  New  Zealand.  Edith  S.  Grossmann. 

Westminster    Review.    170:    525-30.    N.   '08.    Militant   Tactics 
and  Woman's  Suffrage.  Mona  Caird. 

Westminster  Review.   171:  383-95.  Ap.  '09.  Women's   Indus- 
tries. Frances  Swiney. 

Her  argument  is  that  the  economic  position  of  woman  will  be 
benefited  by  the  suffrage. 

Westminster    Review.    171:    396-9.    Ap.    '09.    Plainer    Truths 
about  Woman  Suffrage.  F.  W.  Hatton  Reed. 


xxx  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Westminster  Review.  171:  491-9.  My.  '09.  Our  Modern  Bun- 

yans.  James  A.  Aldis. 
Westminster  Review.  172:  186-90.  Ag.  '09.  Heredity:  a  Plea  for 

Woman's   Suffrage.  Annabel  C.  Gale. 
Westminster   Review.    172:    263-6.    S.    '09.    Girl    and   the   Vote. 

H.  G.  Turnbull. 
Westminster    Review.    173:    400-12.    Ap.    '10.    From    Chattel    to 

Suffragette.  Bernard  Houghton. 
*Westminster  Review.   174:  386-91.  O.  '10.  Division  of  Labour 

and  the  Ballot.  Raymond  V.  Phelan. 
Westminster    Review.    175:    254-6.    Mr.    'n.    Greatest    Political 

Question  of  the  Day.  A.  B.  W.  Chapman. 
Woman's  Home  Companion,   p.   20.  Ap.  '08.  Working  Woman 

and  the  Ballot.  Jane  Addams. 
*Woman's  Journal.  43:  57.  F.  24,  '12.  Votes  for  Women  Should 

Be  Granted.  Joseph  V.  Denney. 
*Woman's  Journal.  43 :  58.  F.  24,  '12.  Suffrage  and  Soldiering. 

Edwin  D.  Mead. 

^Woman's  Journal.  43:  ,117.  Ap.  13,  '12.   Suffrage  Fills  the  Bill. 
^Woman's  Journal.  43:  120.  Ap.  13,  '12.  Answers  Queries  Con- 
cisely. 

^Woman's  Journal.  43:   179.  Je.  8,  '12.   Suffrage  Helps  Homes. 
^Woman's  Journal.  43:    180.  Je.  8,  '12.    Minnie  Bronson's  Fal- 
lacies. Alice  S.  Blackwell. 
World  To-day.  12:  418-21.  Ap.  '07.  Housekeepers'  Need  of  the 

Ballot.  Molly  Warren. 
World   To-Day.   21:    1171-8.    O.   '11.   Why   I    Am   a    Suffragist. 

Mrs.   Oliver   H.   P.   Belmont. 
World's  Work.   23 :  418-21.   F.   '12.  Woman  the   Savior  of  the 

State.   Selma  Lagerlof. 

NEGATIVE  REFERENCES 
Books,  Pamphlets  and  Documents 

Abbott,  Lyman.   Rights  of  Man.  p.  231-4.  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 

Co.,  Boston.   1901. 
*Bissell,  Emily  P.  Talk  to  Women  on  the  Suffrage  Question. 

8p.  pa.  N.  Y.  State  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage, 

New  York. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxxi 

*Brown,  Ex-Justice.  Woman  Suffrage.   i6p.  pa.  Mass.  Ass'n 

Opposed  to  the  Further  Extension  of  Suffrage  to  Wom- 
en, Boston,  Mass. 
Buckley,  James   M.   Wrong  and   Peril   of  Woman   Suffrage. 

The  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co..  New  York.  1909. 
*Chittenden,  Alice  H.  Inexpediency  of  Granting  the  Suffrage 

to  American  Women.  I2p.  pa.  N.  Y.  State  Ass'n  Opposed 

to  Woman  Suffrage,  New  York. 
*Cope,    Edward    D.    Relation   of   the   Sexes   to    Government. 

lop.  pa.  N.  Y.  State  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage, 

New  York. 
*Dwight,   Frederick.   Taxation   and   Suffrage.   4p.    pa.    N.   Y. 

State  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  New  York. 
*Facts  and  Fallacies  about  Woman  Suffrage.  8p.  pa.  Illinois 

Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  Chicago,  111. 
*George,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Address  before  the  Brooklyn  Auxiliary, 

April   30,    1909.    N.   Y.    State   Ass'n    Opposed   to   Woman 

Suffrage,  New  York. 
Harrison,  Frederic.  Realities  and  Ideals,  p.  123-37.  The  Mac- 

millan  Co..  New  York.  1908. 
Johnson,   Helen   K.  Woman  and  the  Republic.  D.  Appleton 

&  Co.,  New  York.  1897. 
*Knapp,  Adeline.  Do  Working  Women  Need  the  Ballot?  8p. 

pa.  N.  Y.  State  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  New 

York. 
*Knapp,  Adeline.  Problem  of  Woman  Suffrage.  4p.  pa.  N.  Y. 

•Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  New  York. 
McCracken,  Elizabeth.  Women  of  America.  Chap.  IV.  Mac- 

millan  &  Co.,  New  York.  1904. 
*Root,  Elihu.  Address  Delivered  before  the  New  York  State 

Constitutional   Convention,   August    15,   1894.   N.   Y.    State 

Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman   Suffrage,   New  York. 
Seawell,  Molly  E.  Ladies'  Battle.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New 

York.  1911. 
Smith,  Goldwin.  Essays  on  Questions  of  the  Day.  pp.  197-238. 

Macmillan  &  Co.,  New  York.  1894. 


xxxii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

United  States.  52d  Congress,  2d  Session.  Senate  Miscella- 
neous Document  28.  Memorial  of  Caroline  F.  Corbin  for 
American  Women  Remonstrants  to  the  Extension  of 
Suffrage  to  Women,  Praying  for  a  Hearing  before  Con- 
gress. 
Printed  with  this  memorial  is  a  letter  from  the  Right  Hon.  W. 

E.  Gladstone,  M.  P.,  remonstrating  against  female  suffrage. 

United  States.  54th  Congress,  ist  Session.  Senate  Report 
787.  Minority  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Woman  Suf- 
frage. 

*Why  the  Home  Makers  Do  Not  Want  to  Vote.  4p.  pa.  Illi- 
nois Ass'n  Opposed  to  the  Extension  of  Suffrage  to 
Women,  Chicago,  111. 

*Woman  Suffrage  and  Child  Labor  Legislation.  8p.  pa.  N.  Y. 
State  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  New  York. 
Reports  and  pamphlets  may  be  obtained  from  the  secretary  of 
the  New  York  State  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  37  W.  39th 
St.,   New   York  City.    Also  from  the   secretaries  of  the   New  York 
State  Men's  Ass'n  Opposed  to  Political  Suffrage  for  Women,  room 
1903,  27  William  St.,  New  York  City,  and  the  Mass.  Ass'n  Opposed 
to  the  Further  Extension   of  Suffrage   to  Women,   Room  615,   Ken- 
sington Bldg.,  687  Boylston  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Magazine  Articles 

Arena.  2:  175-81.  Je.  'oo.  Real  Case  of  the  Remonstrants 
against  Woman  Suffrage.  O.  B.  Frothingham. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  65:  310-20.  Mr.  '90.  Woman  Suffrage  Pro 
and  Con.  Charles  W.  Clark. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  92:  289-96.  S.  '03.  Why  Women  Do  Not 
Wish  the  Suffrage.  Lyman  Abbott. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  96:  750-9.  D.  '05.  Woman  Suffrage  in  the 
Tenements.  Elizabeth  McCracken. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  105:  297-301.  Mr.  '10.  Change  in  the  Femi- 
nine Ideal.  Margaret  Deland. 

Atlantic  Monthly.  106:  289-303.  S.  '10.  Ladies'  Battle.  Molly 
E.  Seawell. 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  35:  sup.  28-32.  My.  '10. 
Answer  to  the  Arguments  in  Support  of  Woman  Suffrage. 
Lyman  Abbott. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxxiii 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  35:  sup.  36-7.  My.  '10. 
Inadvisability  of  Human  Suffrage.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst. 

Bibliotheca  Sacra.  67:  335-46.  Ap.  '10.  Is  Woman's  Suffrage 
an  Enlightened  and  Justifiable  Policy  for  the  State?  Henry 
A.  Stimson. 

Century.  48:  613-23.  Ag.  '94.  Wrongs  and  Perils  of  Woman 
Suffrage.  James  M.  Buckley. 

Collier's.  49:  27.  Ap.  20,  '12.  Anti-Suffrage  Argument.  M.  E. 
Henderson. 

Current  Literature.  48:  177-9.  F.  '10.  Moral  Objections  to 
Woman  Suffrage. 

Edinburgh  Review.  208:  246-63.  Jl.  '08.  Women  and  the  Fran- 
chise. 
Reprinted   in   full   in  Living   Age.    258:    451-63.   August  22,    1908. 

Educational  Review.  36:  398-404.  N.  '08.  Some  Suffragist 
Arguments.  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward. 

*Forum.  43:  495-504.  My.  '10.  Facts  about  Suffrage  and  Anti- 
Suffrage.  Mrs.  Gilbert  E.  Jones. 

Good  Housekeeping.  55:  75-80.  Jl.  '12.  Non-Militant  Defen- 
ders of  the  Home.  Grace  D.  Goodwin. 

Good  Housekeeping.  55:  80-2.  Jl.  '12.  Concerning  Some  of  the 
Anti-Suffrage  Leaders.  I.  T.  Martin. 

Gunton's  Magazine.  20:  333-44.  Ap.  foi.  Scientific  Aspects  of 
the  Woman  Suffrage  Question.  Mrs.  Mary  K.  Sedgwick. 

Harper's  Bazar.  43:  525-6.  My.  '09.  Ideal  of  Equality  for  Men 
and  Women.  Priscilla  Leonard. 

Harper's  Bazar.  43:  1169-70.  N.  '09.  Working  Woman  and 
Anti-Suffrage.  Priscilla  Leonard. 

Hibbert  Journal.  9:  163-8.  O.  '10.  Principal  Childs  on  Wom- 
an Suffrage:  a  Rejoinder.  Francis  H.  Low. 

Independent.  67:  246-9.  Jl.  29,  '09.  Counter  Influence  to 
Woman  Suffrage.  Alice  H.  Chittenden. 

Ladies'  Home  Journal.  22:  7-8.  O.  '05.  Would  Woman  Suf- 
frage Be  Unwise?  Grover  Cleveland. 

His  arguments  are:  1.  Woman's  sphere  is  the  home;  2.  The 
majority  of  women  are  not  in  favor  of  the  suffrage;  3.  The  results 
where  tried  are  not  favorable. 


xxxiv  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Ladies'  Home  Journal.  25:  15.  N.  '08.  Why  I  Do  Not  Believe 

in  Woman  Suffrage.  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward. 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  27:  21-2.  F.  '10.  Why  the  Vote  Would 

Be  Injurious  to  Women.  Lyman  Abbott. 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  27:  56.  Ap.  '10.  Before  the  American 

Woman  Votes.  Jessie  A.  McGriff. 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  27:  15-6;  68-9.  N.  I,  '10.  What  Women 

Have  Actually  Done  Where  They  Vote.  Richard  Barry. 

This  article  is  refuted  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Richard  Barry 
Answered,"  issued  by  the  National  American  Woman  Suffrage 
Ass'n,  New  York. 

Ladies'  Home  Journal.  28:  17.  Ja.  i,  '11.  Do  You,  as  a  Wom- 
an, Want  to  Vote? 

Ladies'  Home  Journal.  28:  6.  Ap.  i,  'u.  Is  Mrs.  Goddard 
Alone  in  Her  Opinion  That  Woman  Suffrage  in  Colorado 
Is  a  Failure? 

Lippincott's.  83:  586-92.  My.  '09.  Shall  Women  Vote?  Ouida. 
Reprinted  in  condensed  form  in  the  Review  of  Reviews.  39:  624- 

5.  May,  1909. 

Living  Age.  225:  774-80.  Je.  23,  'oo.  Growing  Bureaucracy 
and  Parliamentary  Decline.  Alice  S.  Green. 

Living  Age.  260:  323-9.  F.  6,  '09.  Suffrage  and  Anti-Suffrage. 
M.  E.  Simkins. 

The  burden  of  the  suffrage  would  come  on  the  working  woman 
who  is  unequal  to  the  task. 

Living  Age.  261:  240-3.  Ap.  24,  '09.  "Seems  so" — The  Suf- 
fragettes. Stephen  Reynolds. 

Living  Age.  262:  462-7.  Ag.  21,  '09.  Modern  Surrender  of 
Women.  Gilbert  K.  Chesterton. 

Living  Age.  271:  633-6.  D.  9,  'n.  Manhood  Suffrage. 

Living  Age.  272:  587-92.  Mr.  9,  '12.  Feminine  versus  Feminist. 

Nation.  94:  132.  F.  8,  '12.  Question  of  Suffrage. 

Nineteenth  Century.  61:  227-36.  F.  '07.  Women  and  Politics. 
Caroline  E.  Stephen. 
Reprinted    in    full    in    Living   Age.    252:    579-86.    March    9,    1907. 

Nineteenth  Century.  61:  595-6oi.  Ap.  '07.  Women  and  Poli- 
tics. Two  Rejoinders. 
Reprinted  in  full  in  Living  Age.   253:   271-6.  May  4,  1907. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxxv 

Nineteenth  Century.  63:  381-5.  Mr.  '08.  Woman's  Plea  against 
Woman  Suffrage.  Edith  M.  Massie. 
Reprinted  in  full  in  Living  Age.  257:  84-8.   April  11,   1908. 

Nineteenth  Century.  64:  64-73.  Jl-  '08.  Woman  and  the  Suf- 
frage. A.  M.  Lovat. 

Nineteenth  Century.  64:  342-52.  Ag.  '08.  Women's  Anti-Suf- 
frage Movement.  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward. 
Reprinted  in  full  in  Living  Age.   259:  3-11.   October  3,   1908. 

Nineteenth  Century.  64:  1018-24.  D.  '08.  Representation  of 
Women:  A  Consultative  Chamber  of  Women.  Caroline  E. 
Stephen. 

Nineteenth  Century.  64:  1025-9.  D.  '08.  Representation  of 
Women.  Edward  A.  Goulding. 

Nineteenth  Century.  66:  1051-7.  D.  '09.  Then  and  Now.  Ethel 
B.  Harrison. 

Nineteenth  Century.  68:  220-6.  Ag.  '10.  Pageantry  and  Poli- 
tics. Ethelberta  Harrison. 

Nineteenth  Century.  71:  599-608.  Mr.  '12.  Woman  Suffrage 
and  the  Liberal  Party.  Charles  E.  Mallet. 

North  American  Review.  178:  103-9.  Ja.  '04.  Woman's  As- 
sumption of  Sex  Superiority.  Annie  N.  Meyer. 

Her   argument   is    that   women   have   not   shown   the   character 
necessary  for  success  in  political  life. 

North  American  Review.  190:  158-69.  Ag.  '09.  Impediments 
to  Woman  Suffrage.  Mrs.  Gilbert  E.  Jones. 

North  American  Review.  191 :  549-58.  Ap.  '10.  Woman's  Rela- 
tion to  Government.  Mrs.  William  F.  Scott. 

Outlook.  75:  737-44-  N.  28,  '03.  Woman's  Suffrage  in  Colo- 
rado. Elizabeth  McCracken. 

Outlook.  91:  784-8.  Ap.  3,  '09.  Assault  on  Womanhood.  Ly- 
man  Abbott. 

Outlook.  91:  836-40.  Ap.  10,  '09.  Profession  of  Motherhood. 
Lyman  Abbott. 

Outlook.  93:  868-74.  D.  18,  '09.  Melancholia  and  the  Silent 
Woman.  Edwina  S.  Babcock. 

*Outlook.  97:  143-4.  Ja.  28,  fn.  Woman  Voters'  Views  on 
Woman's  Suffrage. 


xxxvi  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Outlook.  100:  302-4.  F.  10,  '12.  Women's  Rights.  Lyman 
Abbott. 

Outlook.  101:  26-30.  My.  4,  '12.  For  the  Twenty-Two  Mil- 
lion; Why  Most  Women  Do  Not  Want  to  Vote.  Ann 
Watkins. 

Outlook.  101:  105-6.  My.  18,  '12.  Right  of  the  Silent  Woman. 

Quarterly   Review.  210:   276-304.   Ja.    '09.    Woman   Suffrage. 
Albert  V.  Dicey. 
Reprinted  in  full  in  Living  Age.  261:  67-84.  April  10,  1909. 

Westminster  Review.  175:  91-103.  Ja.  'n.  Economic  Criticism 
of  Woman  Suffrage.  C.  H.  Norman. 

World  To-Day.  15:  1061-6.  O.  '08.  Should  Women  Vote?  Vir- 
ginia B.  Le  Roy. 


ADDITIONAL  REFERENCES  FOR 
THIRD  EDITION 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Bulletin    of    Bibliography.  8:    194-5,   220-1.   Jl.-O.   '15.    Woman 
Movement.  Alice  Hayes,  Comp. 

The   July    number    gives   a    list    of    bibliographies    on    Woman 
Suffrage. 

Franklin,  Margaret  L.  Case  for  Woman  Suffrage.  900;  pa.  650. 

National  Am.  Woman   Suffrage  Ass'n.  New  York.   1913. 
Howard,  George  E.  Present  Political  Questions:  An  Analytical 

Reference  Syllabus,  p.  67-74,  149-64.  Univ.  of  Nebr.  1913. 
National    Woman    Suffrage    Publishing    Co.,    Inc.    Catalog    and 

Price   List    of    Woman    Suffrage    Literature,    Entertainment 

and   Supplies,    May,    1914.    i6p.   505   Fifth  Av.,    New  York. 


New  York  Times  Review  of  Books,  p.  249-50.  Jl.  n,  '15.  Bibli- 
ography of  Woman  Suffrage  Literature. 

PERIODICALS 

Affirmative 

Forerunner. 

Published  monthly  by  Charlotte  Perkins  Oilman,  627  West  136th 
St.,  New  York  City.  Subscription  price,  $1.00  a  year. 

Headquarters  News  Letter. 

Published  monthly  by  the  National  American  Woman  Suffrage 
Association,  505  Fifth  Av.,  New  York  City.  Subscription  price,  25c 
a  year. 

Woman  Voter. 

Published  monthly  by  the  Woman  Suffrage  Party,  48  E.  34th 
St.,  New  York  City.  Subscription  price,  50c  a  year. 

Woman's  Journal. 

Files  of  this  journal  contain  perhaps  the  most  valuable  material 
favorable  to  suffrage.  Published  weekly,  subscription  price  $1.00  a 
year,  585  Boylston  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 


xxxviii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Negative 
Remonstrance. 

Published  quarterly  by  the  Women's  Anti-Suffrage  Association 
of  Massachusetts.  Subscription  price,  25c  a  year.  Send  to  Mrs. 
James  M.  Codman,  Treasurer,  Walnut  St.,  Brookline,  Mass. 

Woman's  Protest. 

Published  monthly  by  the  National  Association  Opposed  to 
Woman  Suffrage,  37  W.  39th  St.,  New  York  City.  Subscription 
price,  $1.00  a  year. 

GENERAL  REFERENCES 
Books  and  Pamphlets 

^Effect  of  the  Vote  of  Women  on  Legislation.  i6p.  pa.  50. 
National  Woman  Suffrage  Publishing  Co.,  Inc.  New  York. 

Oilman,  Charlotte  Perkins  (Stetson).  Women  and  Economics. 
$1.50.  Small,  Maynard.  Boston.  1908. 

Hale,  Beatrice  Forbes-Robertson.  What  Women  Want:  An 
Interpretation  of  the  Feminist  Movement.  $1.25.  Stokes. 
New  York.  1915. 

*Harper,  Ida  Husted.  Brief  History  of  the  Movement  for 
Woman  Suffrage  in  the  United  States.  32p.  Nat.  Woman 
Suffrage  Pub.  Co.,  Inc.  New  York.  1915. 

*Harper,  Ida  Husted.  National  Amendment  for  Woman  Suf- 
frage, pa.  5c.  Congressional  Union  for  Woman  Suffrage. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Minnesota  Academy  of  Social  Sciences.  Papers  and  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Eighth  Annual  Meeting,  p.  142-98.  $2.00.  Minne- 
apolis, Minn.  1915. 

Advantages  of  equal  suffrage  by  Mrs.  Andreas  Ueland  and 
Josephine  Schain;  Disadvantages  by  L.  C.  Gilfillan  and  Mrs.  E.  L. 
Carpenter. 

North    Carolina.   University  High   School  Debating   Committee. 

Dialectic  and  Philanthropic  Society.   Selected  Arguments  on 

Woman    Suffrage,    pa.    25c.    University    of    North    Carolina, 

Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.  1913. 
Oklahoma.     University.     Extension     Series     Bulletin     No.     17. 

Woman  Suffrage :  Arguments  for  and  against.  Sop.  pa.  1914. 
Schirmacher,  Kaethe.  Modern  Woman's  Rights  Movement :  A 

Historical    Survey.   $1.50.   Macmillan.   New  York.   1912. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xxxix 

Shaw,  Anna  Howard.  Story  of  a  Pioneer.  $2.00.  Harper.  New 
York.  1915. 

United  States.  63d  Congress,  2d  Session.  House  Doc.   No.  754. 
Hearing  before  the  Committee  on  Rules,  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives,    on     Resolution    Establishing    a     Committee     on 
Woman  Suffrage,  December  3-5,  1915. 
Arguments  for  and  against  are  given. 

Yale  University  Debating  Ass'n.  Handbook  No.  I  Discussion 
of  Woman  Suffrage  by  the  Yale  University  Debating  Teams, 
in  the  1914  Triangular  Debates  with  Harvard  and  Princeton. 
38p.  25c.  Yale  Cooperative  Corporation.  New  Haven.  1914. 

Magazine  Articles 

American  Magazine.  79:  57-8.  Je.  '15.  How  Women  Voted  in 
Chicago.  Hugh  S.  Fullerton. 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:  93-8.  N.  '14.  Equal  Suf- 
frage— A  Problem  of  Political  Justice.  Anna  Howard  Shaw. 

*Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:  122-33.  N.  '14.  Political 
Equality  for  Women  and  Women's  Wages.  S.  P.  Breckin- 
ridge. 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:  153-60.  N.  '14.  Equal 
Suffrage  Campaign  in  Pennsylvania.  Jennie  Bradley  Roes- 
sing. 

Chautauquan.  67:  13-4.  Je.  '12.  Equal  Suffrage  Tide. 

Current  Literature.  53:  59-62.  Jl.  '12.  Famed  Biologist's  Warn- 
ing of  the  Peril  in  Votes  for  Women. 

Current  Opinion.  54:  483-4.  Je.  '13.  Ballot  as  an  Ethical  Edu- 
cation for  Women. 

Current  Opinion.  59:  297-9.  N.  '15.  Eastward  the  Tide  of  Suf- 
frage Takes  Its  Way. 

Delineator.  83 :  5-6.  S.  '13.  Case  for  the  Western  Woman. 
Mary  Holland  Kinkaid. 

Edinburgh  Review.  219:  14-34.  Ja.  '14.  Solvency  of  Woman. 
Martin  Chaloner. 

Everybody's.  33 :  1-15.  Jl.  '15.  Suffrage  a  World  Wave.  William 
Hard  and  V.  D.  Jordan. 

Forum.  53:  711-27.  Je.  '15.  Why  Do  Women  Want  the  Ballot? 
H.  G.  Cutler. 


xl  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Good  Housekeeping  Magazine.  56:  148-55.  F.  '13.  New  Chapter 

in  Woman's   Progress.  Mabel  Potter  Daggett. 
Good  Housekeeping.  57:  742-50.  D.  '13.  Women  Who  Get  To- 
gether. Rose  Young. 
Harper's  Weekly.  58:  7-8.  S.  27,  '13.  Younger  Suffragists.  Win- 

nifred  Harper  Cooley. 
Harper's   Weekly.   58:   20-3.    Ap.    25,    '14.    How  Women   Vote. 

Katharine  Buell. 
Harper's  Weekly.  58:   18.  My.  2,  '14.  Woman's  Vote  in  Utah. 

Erna  Von  R.  Owen. 
Harper's  Weekly.  61 :  428,  429.  O.  30,  '15.  Professor  Perry  and 

the  Condescending  Man.  E.  K.  Rand.  Reply.  Ralph  B.  Perry. 
Independent.  73 :  334-5.  Ag.  8,  '12.  Success  of  Woman  Suffrage.. 
^Independent.  82:  514-15.  Je.  21,  '15.  Danish  Women  Win.  Ida 

Husted  Harper. 
Independent.    84:    119-20.    O.   25,    '15.   Demonstration   of    Equal 

Suffrage. 
Independent.  84:  168-9.  N.  I,  '15.  Defeat  of  Woman  Suffrage  in 

New  Jersey. 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  30:  11-12.  Ja.  '13.  Third  Way  in  Woman 

Suffrage.  Margaret  Deland. 

Literary  Digest.  44:  1211-2.  Je.  8,  '12.  Catholic  View  of  Woman- 
Suffrage. 
Literary  Digest.  46:  697-8.  Mr.  29,  '13.  Woman-Suffrage  Stirring 

the  States. 
Literary  Digest.  46:  700-1.  Mr.  29,  '13.  Bright  Side  of  Suffrage 

in  Finland. 

Literary  Digest.  47:  978.  N.  15,  '13.  When  the  Militants  Began. 
Literary  Digest.   48 :   745-6.  Ap.  4,  '14.  Suffrage  as  a  National 

Issue. 
Literary    Digest.    48:    891-2.    Ap.    18,    '14.    Woman's    Hand    in 

Illinois. 

Literary  Digest.  49:  4-5.  Jl.  4,  '14.  Clubwomen  for  Suffrage. 
Literary  Digest.  51 :  753-6.  O.  9,  '15.  What  America  Thinks  of 

Votes  for  Women. 
Literary   Digest.    51 :    946-7.    O.    30,    '15.    No    Votes    for    New 

Jersey  Women. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xli 

National  Municipal  Review.  2:  81-7.  Ja.  '13.  Women  and  Local 

Government  in  the  United  Kingdom.  H.  Marie  Dermitt. 
National  Municipal  Review.  3:  663-71.  O.  '14.  Do  Women  Vote? 

Ellis  Meredith. 

New  Republic.  4:  62-4.  Ag.  21,  '15.  Brewing  Propaganda. 
Nineteenth   Century.   74:    988-1007.   N.   '13.   Voice   for   Women 

without  Votes.   S.  M.  Mitra. 
Nineteenth  Century.   74:    1336-41.    D.   '13.   Woman    Suffrage  in 

the  United  States.  J.  O.  P.  Bland. 
*Nineteenth   Century.    75:   415-33.   F.    '14.   Woman    Suffrage   at 

Work  in  America.  Robert  Palmer.  A.  MacCallum  Scott. 
North   American    Review.    200:    771-80.    N.   '14.   Ethics    of    the 

Women's  Cause.  Durant  Drake. 
North  American   Review.  200:  893-9.   D.  '14.   Recent  Elections 

and  Woman  Suffrage.     Ida  Husted  Harper. 
North   American   Review.   202:    730-5.   N.   '15.    Suffrage   and   a 

Woman's  Centenary.  Ida  Husted  Harper. 

Outlook.    101 :    767-78.   Ag.   3,    '12.   Shall   Women   Vote?    Sym- 
posium. 

Outlook.  106:  509-11.  Mr.  7,  '14.  Women  Vote  in  Illinois. 
Review   of   Reviews.    46:    243-4.    Ag.   '12.    Effect   of    Votes   on 

Women  in  Finland. 
Review  of  Reviews.  46:  700-4.  D.  '12.  Votes  for  Three  Million 

Women.  Ida  Husted  Harper. 
Review  of  Reviews.  51:  614-16.  My.  '15.  Finland:  The  Russian 

Program  and  the  Working  of  Woman  Suffrage. 
Scribner's  Magazine.  58:  494-502.  O.  '15.  Misgivings  of  a  Male 

Suffragette. 
Survey.    31  :    595-6.    F.    7,     '14.     Women     Socializing    Politics. 

Graham  Taylor. 

Survey.  32:  442.  Jl.  25,  '14.  Women's  Votes  in  Illinois. 
Survey.  35:  83-7,  95-6.  O.  23,  '15.  Votes  by  Women:  A  Poll  of 

Survey  Subscribers  in  Equal  Franchise  States. 
Westminster  Review.   180:  454-62.  O.  '13.  Jews  and  Feminism. 

Perry  Cohen. 
Woman's   Home   Companion.  42:    18.    S.   '15.    What  the  Ballot 

Will  Not  Do.  Mary  Ware  Dennett. 


xlii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

AFFIRMATIVE  REFERENCES 

Books  and  Pamphlets 

*Bjorkman,  Frances  M.,  and  Porritt,  Annie  C.,  eds.  Woman 
Suffrage:  History,  Arguments  and  Results.  280.  National 
Woman  Suffrage  Pub.  Co.,  Inc.  New  York.  1915. 

Crothers,  Samuel  McChord.  Meditations  on  Votes  for  Women. 
$1.00.  Houghton.  Boston.  1914. 

Haworth,  Paul  L.  America  in  Ferment,  p.  344-66.  Revolt  of 
the  Women.  Bobbs-Merrill.  Indianapolis.  1915. 

How  It  Feels  to  Be  the  Husband  of  a  Suffragette.  By  "Him." 
5oc.  Doran.  New  York.  1915. 

Mayreder,  Rosa.  Survey  of  the  Woman  Problem.  $1.50.  Doran. 
New  York. 

Magazine   Articles 

American   Magazine.   80:    58.    O.   '15.   Why   I    Shall   Vote   Yes. 

Ray  Stannard  Baker. 
Annals    of    the    American    Academy.    56:    1-8.    N.    '14.    Larger 

Aspects  of  the  Woman's  Movement.  Jane  Addams. 
Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:   105-10.  N.  '14.   Socializ- 
ing Influence  of  the  Ballot  upon  Women.  Emilie  J.  Hutchin- 

son. 
Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:  143-52.  N.  '14.  Woman 

Suffrage  and  the  Liquor  Traffic.  Ella  Sears  Stewart. 
Atlantic  Monthly.  114:  538-46.  O.  '14.  Meditations  on  Votes  for 

Women.   Samuel  McChord  Crothers. 
Canadian  Magazine.  41  :  162-5.  Je.  '13.  Canadian  Women  and  the 

Suffrage.   Isabel  Skelton. 
Catholic  World.    102:   55-67.   O.  '15.   Catholic  Womanhood  and 

the  Suffrage.  Helen  Haines. 
Century.   87:   663-71.    Mr.   '14.   What  Have   Women   Done   wit'i 

the  Vote?  George  Creel. 
Current   Opinion.   58:   264-5.  Ap.   '15.    Some   Gentle  Meditations 

on  the   Subject  of  Votes  for  Women. 
Delineator.  86:  17.  F.  '15.  Call  of  the  Race.  Mary  Field. 
Educational   Review.  47:   295-8.   Mr.   '14.   Prof.   Beyer  and  the 

Woman  Question.  Annie  Burton  Hamman. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xliii 

Forum.  48:  394-408.  O.  '12.  Woman  and  the  State.  Anna  Garlin 

Spencer. 

Harper's  Magazine.   127:   148-51.  Je.  '13.  Momentous  Civic  Re- 
form. William  D.   Howells. 
Harper's   Weekly.   56:   6.    S.   21,   '12.   Votes   for  Women.   Lulu 

MacClure  Clarke. 
Harper's  Weekly.   58:   27.  Ja.  3,  '14.   Progress  and  Femininity. 

C.  L.  Meller. 
Harper's   Weekly.   58:  28.  My.    16,   '14.   Forward;   Feminists  of 

France.  Robert  W.   Sneddon. 
Harper's    Weekly.    59:    355-6.    O.    10,    '14.    Try-out   of   Women 

Voters.  Mary  Roberts  Coolidge. 
Harper's  Weekly.  May  8,  1915.  Special  Suffrage  Issue. 

Contents:  Protected  Sex  in  Wartime.  Aino  Malmberg;  Pro- 
tected Sex  at  the  Polls.  William  L.  Chenery;  Protected  Sex  in  In- 
dustry. George  Creel;  and  others. 

Harper's  Weekly.  61 :  165-7.  Ag.  14,  '15.  Condescending  Man 
and  the  Obstructive  Woman.  Ralph  Barton  Perry. 

Independent.  73:   1143-5.   N.    14,  '12.   Expansion  of  Equality. 

Independent.  75:  31.  Jl.  3,  '13.  Thrust  the  Ballot  upon  Women. 
Alfred  Hayes. 

Independent.  75:  634-5.  S  II,  '13.  Why  I  Voted  for  Equal  Suf- 
frage. Jack  London. 

Independent.  78:  320.  My.  25,  '14.  Will  Women  Vote?  H.  W. 
Quaintance. 

Independent.  82:  3-4.  Ap.  5,  '15.  Justice  and  Desirability  of 
Woman  Suffrage. 

Independent.  84:  58.  O.  u,  '15.  Woman  Suffrage  Must  Win. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt. 

Journal  of  Education.  81  :  577-8.  My.  27,  '15.  Teachers  and 
Woman  Suffrage.  Grace  C.  Strachan. 

Journal  of  Education.  82:  244.  S.  16,  '15.  Reports  from  Suffrage 
States.  J.  A.  Stewart. 

Ladies'  Home  Journal.  30:  21.  Je.  '13.  If  Men  Were  Seeking 
the  Franchise.  Jane  Addams. 

Literary  Digest.  50:  1156.  My.  15,  '15.  Woman  Suffrage  and  the 
Church. 

*National  Municipal  Review.  4:  437-47.  Jl.  '15.  Are  Women  a 
Force  for  Good  Government?  Edith  Abbott. 

New  Republic.  3 :  151.  Je.  12,  '15.  Statistics  in  Chicago  Suf- 
frage. Edith  Abbott. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


New  Republic.  4:  210.  S.  25,  '15.  Wider  Significance  of  Suf- 
frage. John  Mills. 

*Nineteenth  Century.  74:  979-87.  N.  '13.  Women's  Parliamen- 
tary Franchise  in  Practice.  George  Horsfall  Frodsham. 

North  American  Review.  196:  204-14.  Ag.  '12.  Mission  of 
Woman.  A.  Maurice  Low. 

North  American  Review.  199:  338-43.  Mr.  '14.  Working  of 
Equal  Suffrage.  George  Harvey. 

North  American  Review.  199:  709-21.  My.  '14.  National  Con- 
stitution Will  Enfranchise  Women.  Ida  Husted  Harper. 

Outlook,  in:  354-5.  O.  13,  '15.  Woman  Suffrage:  an  Argument 
and  a  Testimony.  John  P.  Hoyt. 

Overland,  n.s.,  61 :  165-9.  F.  '13.  Bad  Woman's  Vote.  Lurana 
Sheldon. 

Proceedings.  Academy  of  Political  Science.  5 :  73-81.  O.  '14. 
Woman  Suffrage.  Thomas  R.  Powell. 

Review  of  Reviews.  47:  608-10.  My.  '13.  How  California 
Women  Voters  Made  Good. 

Sunset.  30:  344-8.  Ap.  '13.  Vice  and  the  Woman's  Vote.  Miriam 
Michelson. 

Survey.  32 :  69-70.  Ap.  18,  '14.  Women's  Voting  Significantly 
Tested  in  Illinois.  Graham  Taylor. 

Survey.  35:  39-42.  O.  9,  '15.  Discovering  Pennsylvania.  Emily 
S.  Johnson. 

Survey.  35:  148.  N.  6,  '15.  Women,  War -and  Suffrage.  Jane 
Addams. 

Westminster  Review.  179:  85-92.  Ja.  '13.  Woman  Suffrage:  a 
Suggested  Solution.  Richard  S.  Makower. 

Woman's  Home  Companion.  42:  8.  N.  '15.  My  Conversion  to 
Suffrage.  Alice  Woods  Emery. 

World's  Work.  27:   14-5.  N.  '13.  Year  of  Equal  Suffrage. 

NEGATIVE  REFERENCES 
Books  and  Pamphlets 

Carpenter,  Mrs.  Elbert  L.  Fair  Share  for  Women.  Minneapolis 
[Minn.]  Association  Opposed  to  the  Further  Extension  of 
Suffrage  to  Women. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xlv 

Case  against  Woman  Suffrage:  A  Manual  for  Speakers,  De- 
baters, Writers,  Lecturers,  and  Anyone  Who  Wants  the 
Facts  and  Figures,  pa.  I5c.  Man-Suffrage  Assn,  27  William 
Street,  New  York. 

Goodwin,  Grace  Duffield.  Anti-Suffrage:  Ten  Good  Reasons. 
5oc.  Duffield.  New  York.  1912. 

Leatherbee,  Ethel  B.  Anti-Suffrage  Campaign  Manual.  28p.  I5c. 
Anti-Suffrage  Assn.  of  Mass.,  685  Boylston  St.,  Boston, 
Mass.  1915. 

Martin,  Edward  S.  Unrest  of  Women.  $1.00.  Appleton.  New 
York.  1915. 

Owen,  Harold.  Woman  Adrift :  the  Menace  of  Suffragism. 
$1.50.  Dutton.  New  York.  1912. 

Tarbell,  Ida  M.  Business  of  Being  a  Woman.  $1.25.  Macmillan. 
New  York.  1912. 

Votes  for  Men.  5oc.  Duffield.  New  York.  1913. 

Wright,  Almroth  Edward.  Unexpurgated  Case  against  Woman 
Suffrage.  $1.00.  Hoeber.  New  York.  1913. 


Magazine  Articles 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:  99-104.  N.  '14.  Woman 

Suffrage    Opposed    to    Women's    Rights.    Mrs.    Arthur    M. 

Dodge. 
Catholic  World.  102:  45-54.  O.  '15.  Shall  Women  Vote?  Joseph 

V.  McKee. 
Educational  Review.  47:  22-7.  Ja.   '14.   Creative  Evolution  and 

the  Woman  Question.  Thomas  P.  Beyer. 
Harper's  Weekly.  56:  6.  Ag.  17,  '12.  Woman  and  the  Suffrage. 

.  O.  M.  Roff. 
Independent.  84:   59.   O.   n,   '15.   Woman    Suffrage  Must   Fail. 

Alice  N.  George. 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  29:  24.  O.  '12.  What  Is  the  Truth  about 

Woman  Suffrage? 
Literary    Digest.    45 :    365-6.    S.    7,    '12.    Failure    of    Finnish 

Feminism. 
Living  Age.  274:  330-5.  Ag.  10,  '12.  Suffrage  Danger.  Laurence 

Alma-Tadema. 


xlvi  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

New  England  Magazine,  n.s.,  49:  109-10.  My.  '13.  Call  to  Sanity. 
F.  W.  Burrows. 

New  Republic.  1 :  24.  Ja.  16,  '15.  Other  Side  of  Suffrage.  Mar- 
garet C.  Robinson. 

Nineteenth  Century.  72:   167-81.  Jl..  '12.  Where  Women  Sit  in 
Parliament.  Edith  Sellers. 

Nineteenth  Century.  74:  1328-35.  D.  '13.  Abdication.  E.  B.  Har- 
rison. 
Same.    Living  Age.    280:195-200.   January  24,  1914. 

Nineteenth  Century.   75 :    128-40.  Ja.   '14.   Woman  and  Morality. 
Ethel  Colquhoun. 
Same.  Living  Age.  280:515-24.  February  28,  1914. 

North  American   Review.    199:   366-82.   Mr.   '14.   Two   Suffrage 
Mistakes.  Molly  Elliot  Seawell. 

Outlook.  101 :   754-5.  Ag.  3,  '12.   Shall  Women  Vote? 

Outlook.  103 :  839-40.  Ap.  19,  '13.  Ask  Her. 

Outlook.   104:54-5.  My.    10,  '13.   Don't  Ask  Her. 

Outlook.   104:   268-70.   Je.   7,  '13.   Poll  of  Women  on  the   Suf- 
frage. 

Proceedings.    Academy    of    Political    Science.    5 :    82-8.    O.    '14. 
Consent  of  the  Governed.  Munroe   Smith. 

Unpopular  Review.  4:   127-39.  Jl.  '15.  Suffrage  Prophets. 

Unpopular  Review.  4:  255-73.  O.  '15.   Confessions  of  an  Anti. 

Yale   Review,  n.s.,   4:    590-607.   Ap.   '15.   Xanthippe  on  Woman 
Suffrage.  Duffield  Osborne. 


SELECTED  ARTICLES  ON 
WOMAN  SUFFRAGE 


INTRODUCTION 

One  fact  that  very  early  impresses  itself  upon  the  student 
of  this  question  is  that  Woman  Suffrage  is  not  a  subject  of 
academic  discussion  merely,  it  is  an  active  political  move- 
ment. Not  only  in  the  United  States,  but  in  nearly  every 
quarter  of  the  civilized  world  there  are  well-established 
organizations  of  women,  and,  often,  men  also,  actively  engaged 
in  promoting  or  opposing  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  women. 
As  one  of  their  methods  of  propaganda,  these  organizations 
publish  and  distribute  quantities  of  literature,  including  weekly 
and  monthly  periodicals.  This  literature  is  extremely  valuable 
for  the  debater,  and,  as  the  length  of  the  bibliography  forbids 
more  than  a  brief  statement  of  how  this  material  may  be 
secured,  it  seems  advisable  to  give  place  here  to  a  list  of  the 
more  important  of  these  organizations  and  their  publications. 

The  most  prominent  of  the  societies  organized  for  the 
extension  of  the  suffrage  to  women  in  the  United  States,  is  the 
National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  with  head- 
quarters at  505  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City.  An  immense 
amount  of  literature  is  issued  by  this  organization,  under  the 
name  of  the  National  Woman  Suffrage  Publishing  Company, 
Inc.,  and  a  catalog  is  sent  free  to  anyone  on  request.  The 
Woman's  Journal,  a  weekly  publication  edited  by  Alice  Stone 
Blackwell,  has  a  wide  national  circulation,  and  is  published 
at  585  Boylston  Street,  Boston,  Mass.,  at  the  moderate  subscrip- 
tion price  of  one  dollar  a  year.  Auxiliary  to  this  national  body 
are  numerous  state,  city,  county  and  local  organizations,  and 
various  allied  societies,  a  few  of  which  publish  literature  and 
issue  periodicals.  Of  the  periodicals  there  are  the  Woman 
Voter  published  monthly  by  the  Woman  Suffrage  Party,  48 


lj(  SELECTED'  ARTICLES   ON 


East  Thirty-fourth  Street,  New  York  City,  at  fifty  cents  a 
year,  and  the  Headquarters  News  Letter,  505  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York  City,  at  twenty-five  cents  a  year  ;  also  the  Fore- 
runner, published  monthly  by  Charlotte  Perkins  Oilman,  627 
West  I36th  Street,  New  York  City,  at  the  subscription  price 
of  one  dollar  a  year.  The  Congressional  Union  for  Woman 
Suffrage  has  recently  been  organized  with  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  universal  suffrage  in  the  United  States  by  means 
of  an  amendment  to  the  National  constitution  and  has  pub- 
lished some  literature  on  this  phase  of  the  subject.  Head- 
quarters have  been  established  at  1420  F  Street,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Literature  opposing  the  movement  for  suffrage  may  be 
secured  from  the  National  Association  Opposed  to  Woman 
Suffrage,  Headquarters  at  37  West  39th  Street,  New  York 
City;  from  the  New  York  State  Association  Opposed,  at  the 
same  address  ;  from  the  Massachusetts  Association  Opposed 
to  the  Further  Extension  of  Suffrage  to  Women,  Room  615, 
Kensington  Building,  687  Boylston  Street,  Boston,  Mass.  ;  and 
also  from  the  New  York  State  Men's  Association  Opposed  to 
Political  Suffrage  for  Women,  Room  1903,  27  William  Street, 
New  York  City.  Periodicals  issued  against  suffrage  are  the 
Woman's  Protest,  published  monthly  by  the  National  Associ- 
ation Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage,  at  one  dollar  a  year,  and 
the  "Remonstrance,"  issued  quarterly  by  the  Massachusetts  As- 
sociation Opposed,  at  twenty-five  cents  a  year. 

Among  the  foreign  periodicals  favorable  to  suffrage  for 
women  are  Jus  Suffragii,  92  Kruiskade,  Rotterdam,  Holland, 
organ  of  the  International  Suffrage  Alliance;  Votes  for 
Women,  4-7  Red  Lion  Court,  Fleet  Street,  London,  E.  C.  ; 
The  Common  Cause,  2  Robert  Street,  Adelphi,  London,  W.  C., 
organ  of  the  National  Union  of  Women  Suffrage  Societies; 
and  The  Vote,  2  Robert  Street,  Adelphi,  London,  W.  C.,  organ 
of  the  Woman's  Freedom  League.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
question  there  is  the  Anti-Suffrage  Review,  published  by  the 
National  League  for  Opposing  Woman  Suffrage,  515  Caxton 
House,  Tothill  Street,  Westminster,  S.  W.,  London. 

A  second  fact  that  impresses  the  reader  or  student  is  the 
rapidity  with  which  events  come  to  pass  in  this  movement 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  3 

for  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  One  must  keep  in  almost 
daily  touch  with  what  is  published  on  the  question  in  order 
that  this  information  may  be  always  correct  and  up  to  date. 
The  following  General  Discussion  is  reprinted  from  the  second 
edition  of  this  handbook  and  contains  facts  and  figures  showing 
the  progress  of  the  woman  suffrage  movement  to  the  beginning 
of  1912.  Articles  bringing  this  information  to  date  will  be 
found  in  the  section  entitled  Supplementary  Material  for  the 
Third  Edition,  at  the  end  of  the  book.  Anyone  consulting 
this  volume  for  facts  and  statistics  should  take  care  to  use 
both  sections. 

To  the  list  of  gains  for  equal  suffrage  tabulated  in  the 
following  article  by  Alice  Stone  Blackwell,  may  be  added  the 
following :  Full  suffrage  for  Arizona,  Kansas,  Oregon,  Alaska, 
Montana  and  Nevada ;  presidential,  municipal  and  partial  county 
and  state  suffrage  in  Illinois :  Women  made  eligible  to  city  and 
county  councils  in  Ireland ;  Full  Suffrage  in  Norway,  Iceland 
and  Denmark.  These  are  recorded  in  tabular  form  at  the 
close  of  this  Introduction.  Other  partial  gains  are  the  endorse- 
ment of  equal  suffrage  by  many  national  and  affiliated  trade, 
social,  political  and  religious  organizations  and  its  incorpora- 
tion into  the  platforms  of  state  and  national  political  conven- 
tions, especially  those  of  the  Socialist,  Prohibition  and  Pro- 
gressive parties. 

That  the  movement  is  continually  gaining  in  strength  and 
popularity  may  be  interpreted  from  the  fact  that  it  received 
consideration  in  the  legislative  sessions  of  twenty-two  states 
during  1915  alone.  In  seven  states  resolutions  were  adopted 
submitting  the  question  to  the  people  of  the  state  in  the  form  of 
a  constitutional  amendment.  In  four  of  these  states,  Massa- 
chusetts, New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  equal 
suffrage  was  voted  on  and  defeated.  Iowa  will  vote  on  the 
question  in  June,  1916,  and  South  Dakota  and  West  Virginia 
in  November  of  the  same  year :  Arkansas  in  1917.  In  Ten- 
nessee a  resolution  to  put  the  question  before  the  people  was 
also  adopted,  but  it  must  be  passed  by  the  next  succeeding 
legislature  also  before  the  question  can  go  to  the  people.  Cali- 
fornia adopted  a  resolution  declaring  woman  suffrage  an 
unqualified  success.  The  question  was  also  considered  and  was 


4  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

defeated  by  the  legislatures  of  Alabama,  Connecticut,  Dela- 
ware, Florida,  Indiana,  Michigan,  New  Mexico,  North  Caro- 
lina, North  Dakota,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  Vermont  and  Wisconsin. 
At  the  present  time  there  is  coming  to  be  a  change  in  the 
tactics  used  in  working  for  equal  suffrage.  Partly  because  of 
the  great  amount  of  time  and  money  that  must  be  spent,  often 
without  success,  in  state  campaigns,  and  partly  because  the  grow- 
ing strength  of  the  movement  would  seem  to  make  it  now  more 
likely  of  success,  the  agitation  for  a  national  amendment  has 
gained  considerable  strength  recently,  and  the  Congressional 
Union  has  been  formed,  having  as  its  special  object  the  adoption 
by  Congress  of  the  so-called  Susan  B.  Anthony  amendment. 

Additional   Gains  in   Equal   Suffrage 

The  table  on  page  5  of  this  volume,  was  printed  in  the 
second  edition  of  this  Handbook  and  records  the  gains  for 
suffrage  down  to  1911.  Progress  from  1911  to  the  present 
time  is  recorded  in  similar  form  as  follows: 

1911  Ireland. .  .Women  made  eligible  to  city  and  county  councils. 

1912  Arizona. .  Full  suffrage. 
Kansas. . .  Full  suffrage. 
Oregon...  Full  suffrage. 

1913  Alaska...  Full  suffrage. 

Illinois. ..  Presidential,    municipal    and    partial    state    and 

county  suffrage. 
Norway. .  Parliamentary  suffrage  made  universal. 

1914  Iceland. ..  Full  suffrage  conferred  on  women. 

Illinois. ..  Franchise   law    upheld    as    constitutional   by   the 

Supreme  Court  of  Illinois. 
Montana.  Full   suffrage. 
Nevada. .  .Full   suffrage. 

1915  Denmark.  Full   suffrage. 

E.  M.  PHELPS. 
December  31,  1915. 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 

Gains  in  Equal  Suffrage. 
Alice  S.  Blackwell. 

Eighty  years  ago  women  could  not  vote  anywhere,  except  to  a 

very  limited  extent  in  Sweden,  and  in  a  few  other  places  in  the 

old  world. 

Time         Place  Kind  of  Suffrage 

1838    Kentucky  School  suffrage  to  widows  with  chil- 

dren of  school  age. 

1850    Ontario  School  suffrage,   women   married  and 

single 

1861     Kansas  School  suffrage. 

1867    New  South  Wales    Municipal  suffrage. 

1869    England  Municipal  suffrage,  single  women  and 

widows. 

Victoria  Municipal   suffrage,   married  and  sin- 

gle women. 
Wyoming  Full  suffrage. 

1871     West  Australia         Municipal  suffrage. 

1875  Michigan  School  suffrage. 
Minnesota  School  suffrage. 

1876  Colorado  School  suffrage. 

1877  New  Zealand  School  suffrage. 

1878  New   Hampshire       School  suffrage. 
Oregon  School  suffrage. 

1879  Massachusetts  School  suffrage. 

1880  New   York  School  suffrage.' 
Vermont  School  suffrage. 
South  Australia        Municipal  suffrage. 

1881  Scotland  Municipal  suffrage  to  the  single  wom- 

en and  widows. 
Isle  of  Man  Parliamentary  suffrage. 

1883  Nebraska  School  suffrage. 

1884  Ontario  Municipal  suffrage. 
Tasmania  Municipal  suffrage. 

1886    New  Zealand  Municipal  suffrage. 

New   Brunswick       Municipal  suffrage. 


SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 


Time         Place 

1887  Kansas 
Nova  Scotia 
Manitoba 
North  Dakota 
South  Dakota 
Montana 
Arizona 
New  Jersey 
Montana 

1888  England 
British   Columbia 
Northwest    Terri- 
tory 

1889  Scotland 
Province  of  Que- 
bec 

1891     Illinois 

1893  Connecticut 
Colorado 
New  Zealand 

1894  Ohio 
Iowa 
England 

1895  South  Australia 

1896  Utah 
Idaho 

1898    Ireland 

Minnesota 

Delaware 

France 


Louisiana 

1900  Wisconsin 
West  Australia 

1901  New  York 


Norway 


Kind  of  Suffrage 
Municipal  suffrage. 
Municipal  suffrage. 
Municipal  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
Tax-paying  suffrage. 
County  suffrage. 
Municipal  suffrage. 
Municipal  suffrage. 

County  suffrage. 

Municipal     suffrage.      Single    .women 

and  widows. 
School  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
Full  suffrage. 
Full  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
Bond  suffrage. 
Parish  and  district  suffrage.    Married 

and  single  women. 
Full  state  suffrage. 
Full  suffrage. 
Full  suffrage. 

All    offices    except   members    of   Par- 
liament 

Library  trustees. 

School  suffrage  to  tax  paying  women. 
Women  engaged  in  commerce  can  vote 

for    judges    of    the    Tribunal    of 

commerce. 

Tax-paying  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 
Full  state  suffrage. 
Tax-paying    suffrage.     Local    taxation 

in    all    towns   and   villages    of   the 

state. 
Municipal  suffrage. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE 


Time         Place 

1902  Australia 

New  South  Wales 

1903  Kansas 
Tasmania 

1905  Queensland 

1906  Finland 

1907  Norway 


Sweden 
Denmark 


England 


Oklahoma 


1908    Michigan 


Denmark 


Victoria 
1909    Belgium 


Province  of  Vo- 
ralberg  (Aus- 
trian Tyrol) 

Ginter  Park,  Va. 


Kind  of  Suffrage 

•Full  suffrage. 

Full  state  suffrage. 

Bond  suffrage. 

Full  state  suffrage. 

Full  state  suffrage. 

Full  suffrage.     Eligible  to  all  offices. 

Full    parliamentary     suffrage    to    the 

300,000    women    who    already   had 

municipal  suffrage. 
Eligible  to  municipal  offices. 
Can  vote  for  members  of  boards  of 

public  charities  and  serve  on  such 

boards. 
Eligible     as     mayors,     aldermen     and 

county  and  town  councilors. 
New   state   continued   school   suffrage 

for  women. 
Taxpayers    to    vote    on    questions    of 

local    taxation    and    .granting    of 

franchises. 
Women  who  are  taxpayers,  or  wives 

of  taxpayers,  a  vote  for  all  officers 

except   members    of   Parliament. 
Full  state  suffrage. 
Can  vote  for  members  of  the   Coun- 

seils    des    Prudhommes,    and    also 

eligible. 
Single    women    and    widows    paying 

taxes  were  given  a  vote. 


Tax-paying  women,  a  vote  on  all  mu- 
nicipal questions. 
Full  suffrage. 
School  suffrage. 

Municipal     suffrage     made    universal. 
(Three-fifths    of    the    women    had 
had   it  before.) 
Bosnia  Parliamentary  vote  to  women  owning 

a  certain  amount  of  real  estate. 

India.       (Gaekwar Women  of  its  dominions  vote  in  nui- 
of    Baroda)  nicipal  elections. 


1910    Washington 
New  Mexico 
Norway 


1910 


8  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

Time         Place  Kind  of  Suffrage 

1910  Wurtemberg,     Women    engaged    in    agriculture    vote 

Kingdom    of  for    members   of   the   Chamber   of 

agriculture.    Also  eligible. 

New    York  Women    in    all    towns,    villages    and 

third-class   cities   vote   on   bonding 
propositions. 

1911  California  Full  suffrage. 

Honduras  Municipal     suffrage    in     capital     city, 

Belize. 
Iceland  Parliamentary     suffrage     for    women 

over  25  years. 

Diet  of  the  Crown     Suffrage  to  the  women  of  its  capital 
Province          of          city,  Laibach. 
Krain        (Aus- 
tria) 

North  American  Review.  175:800-10.  December,  1902. 
Woman's  Half-Century  of  Evolution.     Susan  B.  Anthony. 

The  status  of  woman  in  the  United  States  fifty  years  ago,  the 
progressive  steps  by  which  it  has  been  improved,  present  condi- 
tions, future  probabilities — in  fact,  a  resume  of  the  great  move- 
ment in  which  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  has  been  the  central  figure 
through  two  generations — this  is  the  subject  assigned  me  to 
consider  in  the  brief  space  of  one  magazine  article ! 

The  title  I  claim  for  Mrs.  Stanton  is  that  of  leader  of  women. 
Women  do  not  enjoy  one  privilege  to-day  beyond  those  possessed 
by  their  foremothers,  which  was  not  demanded  by  her  before  the 
present  generation  was  born.  Her  published  speeches  will  verify 
this  statement.  In  the  light  of  the  present,  it  seems  natural  that 
she  should  have  made  those  first  demands  for  women ;  but  at  the 
time  it  was  done  the  act  was  far  more  revolutionary  than  was  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  by  the  colonial  leaders.  There  had 
been  other  rebellions  against  the  rule  of  kings  and  nobles;  men 
from  time  immemorial  had  been  accustomed  to  protest  against 
injustice;  but  for  women  to  take  such  action  was  without  a 
precedent  and  the  most  daring  innovation  in  all  history.  Men  of 
old  could  emphasize  their  demands  by  the  sword,  and  in  the  pres- 
ent century  they  have  been  able  to  do  so  by  the  ballot.  While 
they  might,  indeed,  put  their  lives  in  peril,  they  were  always  sup- 
ported by  a  certain  amount  of  sympathy  from  the  public.  Women 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  9 

could  neither  fight  nor  vote;  they  were  not  sustained  even  by 
those  of  their  own  sex;  and,  while  they  incurred  no  physical  risk, 
they  imperilled  their  reputation  and  subjected  themselves  to  men- 
tal and  spiritual  crucifixion.  Therefore  I  hold  that  the  calling  of 
that  first  Woman's  Rights  Convention  in  1848  by  Mrs.  Stanton, 
Lucretia  Mott  and  two  or  three  other  brave  Quaker  women,  was 
one  of  the  most  courageous  acts  on  record. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  a  woman's  convention 
never  had  been  heard  of,  with  the  exception  of  the  few  which 
had  been  called,  early  in  the  anti-slavery  movement,  by  the  women 
who  had  been  driven  out  of  the  men's  meetings  and  had  formed 
their  own  society ;  but  even  these  were  almost  wholly  managed  by 
men.  A  few  individual  women  had  publicly  advocated  equality 
of  rights — the  number  could  be  more  than  counted  on  one's  fin- 
gers— but  a  convention  for  this  purpose  and  an  organized  demand 
had  been  till  then  undreamed  of.  The  vigor  and  scope  of  the 
declaration  of  sentiments  which  was  presented  and  adopted  at 
this  memorable  meeting,  held  at  Mrs.  Stanton's  home,  in  Seneca 
Falls,  New  York,  are  in  nowise  diminished  by  comparison  with 
the  declaration  of  the  forefathers  proclaimed  exactly  seventy-two 
years  before.  It  began,  indeed,  with  the  preamble  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  substituting  "women"  for  "men"  and 
"colonies"  ;  and  it  continued  : 

"The  history  of  mankind  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and 
usurpations  on  the  part  of  man  toward  woman,  having  in  direct 
object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  her.  To 
prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world: 

"He  has  never  permitted  her  to  exercise  her  inalienable  right  to 
the  elective  franchise. 

"He  has  compelled  her  to  submit  to  laws  in  the  formation  of 
which  she  has  no  voice. 

"He  has  withheld  from  her  rights  which  are  given  to  the  most 
ignorant  and  degraded  men — both  natives  and  foreigners. 

"Having  deprived  her  of  this  first  right  of  a  citizen,  the  elective 
franchise,  thereby  leaving  her  without  representation  in  the  halls 
of  legislation,  he  has  oppressed  her  on  all  sides. 

"He  has  made  her,  if  married,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  civilly 
dead. 

"He  has  taken  from  her  all  right  in  property,  even  to  the  wages 
she  earns. 

"He  has  made  her  morally  an  irresponsible  being,  as  she  can 
commit  many  crimes  with  impunity,  provided  they  be  done  in  the 
presence  of  her  husband.  In  the  covenant  of  marriage,  she  is 
compelled  to  promise  obedience  to  her  husband,  he  becoming,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  her  'master — the  law  giving  him  power 
to  deprive  her  of  her  liberty  and  to  administer  chastisement. 

"He  has  so  framed  the  laws  of  divorce,  as  to  what  shall  be 
the  proper  causes,  and  to  whom  the  guardianship  of  the  children 
shall  be  given,  as  to  be  wholly  regardless  of  the  happiness  of 
woman — the  law,  in  all  cases,  going  upon  a  false  supposition  of  the 
supremacy  of  man,  and  giving  all  power  into  his  hands. 

"After  depriving  her  of  all  rights  as  a  married  woman,  if  single 
and  the  owner  of  property,  he  has  taxe(?  her  to  support  a  govern- 


io  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

ment  which  recognizes  her  only  when  her  property  can  be  made 
profitable  to  it. 

"He  has  monopolized  nearly  all  the  profitable  employments,  and 
from  those  she  is  permitted  to  follow,  she  receives  but  a  scanty 
remuneration. 

"He  has  closed  against  her  all  the  avenues  to  wealth  and  dis- 
tinction which  he  considers  most  honorable  to  himself.  In  theology, 
medicine,  and  law  she  is  not  known. 

"He  has  denied  her  the  facilities  for  obtaining  a  thorough  edu- 
cation— all  colleges  being  closed  against  her. 

"He  allows  her  in  church,  as  well  as  state,  but  a  subordinate 
position,  claiming  Apostolic  authority  for  her  exclusion  from  the 
ministry,  and  with  some  exceptions,  from  any  public  participation 
in  the  affairs  of  the  church. 

"He  has  created  a  false  public  sentiment  by  giving  to  the  world 
a  different  code  of  morals  for  men  and  women,  by  which  moral 
delinquencies  which  exclude  women  from  society  are  not  only  toler- 
ated but  deemed  of  little  account  in  man. 

"He  has  usurped  the  prerogative  of  Jehovah  himself,  claiming 
it  as  his  right  to  assign  for  her  a  sphere  of  action,  when  that 
belongs  to  her  conscience  and  to  her  God. 

"He  has  endeavored  in  every  way  that  he  could  to  destroy  her 
confidence  in  her  own  powers,  to  lessen  her  self-respect  and  to 
make  her  willing  to  lead  a  dependent  and  abject  life. 

"Now,  in  view  of  this  entire  disfranchisement  of  one-half  the 
people  of  this  country,  their  social  and  religious  degradation — in 
view  of  the  unjust  laws  above  mentioned,  and  because  women  do 
feel  themselves  aggrieved,  oppressed  and  fraudulently  deprived  of 
their  most  sacred  rights,  we  insist  that  they  have  immediate  admis- 
sion to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  which  belong  to  them  as 
citizens  of  the  United  States. 

"In  entering  upon  the  great  work  before  us  we  anticipate  no 
small  amount  of  misconception,  misrepresentation  and  ridicule;  but 
we  shall  use  every  instrumentality  within  our  power  to  effect  our 
object.  We  shall  employ  agents,  circulate  tracts,  petition  the  state 
and  national  legislatures,  and  endeavor  to  enlist  the  pulpit  and  the 
press  in  our  behalf.  We  hope  this  convention  will  be  followed  by  a 
series  of  conventions,  embracing  every  part  of  the  country." 

"Firmly  relying  upon  the  final  triumph  of  the  Right  and  the 
True,  we  do  this  day  affix  our  signatures  to  this  declaration." 

To  emphasive  these  most  radical  sentiments  the  following 
resolutions  also  were  adopted : 

"The  great  precept  of  nature  is  conceded  to  be,  'that  man 
shall  pursue  his  own  true  and  substantial  happiness.'  Blackstone, 
in  his  Commentaries,  remarks,  that  this  law  of  Nature  being 
coeval  with  mankind  and  dictated  by  God  himself,  is  of  course 
superior  in  obligation  to  any  other.  It  is  binding  over  all  the 
globe,  in  all  countries,  and  at  all  times;  no  human  laws  are  of 
any  validity  if  contrary  to  this,  and  such  of  them  as  are  valid 
derive  all  their  force  and  all  their  validity  and  all  their  authority, 
mediately  and  immediately,  from  this  original;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  such  law's  as  conflict,  in  any  way,  with  the  true 
and  substantial  happiness  of  woman,  are  contrary  to  the  great 
precept  of  nature  and  of  no  validity;  for  this  is  'superior  in  obliga- 
tion to  any  other.' 

"Resolved,  That  all  laws  which  prevent  woman  from  occupying 
such  a  station  in  society  as  her  conscience  shall  dictate,  or  which 
place  her  in  a  position  inferior  to  that  of  man,  are  contrary  to  the 
great  precept  of  nature  and  therefore  of  no  force  or  authority. 

"Resolved,  That  woman  is  man's  equal — was  intended  to  be  so 
by  the  Creator — and  the  highest  good  of  the  race  demands  that 
she  should  be  recognized  as  such. 

"Resolved,  That  the  women  of  this  country  ought  to  be  enlight- 
ened in  regard  to  the  laws  under  which  they  live,  that  they  may 
no  longer  publish  their  degradation  by  declaring  themselves  satis- 
lied  with  their  present  position,  nor  their  ignorance  by  asserting 
that  they  have  all  the  rights  they  want. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  11 

"Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  man,  while  claiming  for  himself 
intellectual  superiority,  does  accord  to  woman  moral  superiority,  it 
is  pre-eminently  his  duty  to  encourage  her  to  speak  and  teach,  as 
she  has  an  opportunity,  in  all  religious  assemblies. 

"Resolved,  That  the  same  amount  of  virtue,  delicacy  and  refine- 
ment of  behavior  that  is  required  of  woman  in  the  social  state 
should  also  be  required  of  man,  and  the  same  transgressions  should 
be  visited  with  equal  severity  on  both  man  and  woman. 

"Resolved,  That  the  objection  of  indelicacy  and  impropriety, 
which  is  so  often  brought  against  woman  when  she  addresses  a 
public  audience,  comes  with  a  very  ill-grace  from  those  who  en- 
courage by  their  attendance  her  appearance  on  the  stage,  in  the 
concert  or  in  feats  of  the  circus. 

"Resolved,  That  woman  has  too  long  rested  satisfied  m  the  cir- 
cumscribed limits  which  corrupt  customs  and  a  perverted  applica- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  have  marked  out  for  her,  and  that  it  is  time 
she  should  move  in  the  enlarged  sphere  which  her  great  Creator 
has  assigned  her. 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  women  of  this  country  to 
secure  to  themselves  their  sacred  right  to  the  elective  franchise. 

"Resolved,  That  the  equality  of  human  rights  results  necessarily 
from  the  fact  of  the  identity  of  the  race  in  capabilities  and  respon- 

"Resolvcd,  therefore.  That,  being  invested  by  the  Creator  with 
the  same  capabilities  and  the  same  consciousness  of  responsibility 
for  their  exercise,  it  is  demonstrably  the  right  and  duty  of  woman, 
equally  with  man,  to  promote  every  righteous  cause  by  every 
righteous  means;  and  especially  in  regard  to  the  great  subjects  of 
morals  and  religion,  it  is  self-evidently  her  right  to  participate 
with  her  brother  in  teaching  them,  both  in  private  and  in  public,  by 
writing  and  by  speaking,  by  any  instrumentalities  proper  to  be  used 
and  in  any  assemblies  proper  to  be  held;  and  this  being  a  self- 
evident  truth,  growing  out  of  the  divinely  implanted  principles  of 
human  nature,  any  custom  or  authority  adverse  to  it,  whether 
modern  or  wearing  the  hoary  sanction  of  antiquity,  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  self-evident  falsehood  and  at  war  with  the  interests 
of  mankind." 

In  all  the  conventions  which  have  been  held  during  the  past 
fifty-four  years,  the  impassioned  addresses  made,  the  resolutions 
presented,  the  hearings  before  legislative  bodies,  there  has  been 
nothing  to  add  to  these  declarations  made  by  a  woman  only 
thirty-three  years  old,  born  and  bred  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
rigid  social,  civil  and  religious  conservatism.  They  illustrate 
vividly  the  conditions  which  existed  in  that  day,  when  the  sim- 
plest rudiments  of  education  were  deemed  sufficient  for  women; 
when  only  a  half-dozen  unremunerative  employments  were  open  ^ 
to  them  and  any  work  outside  the  home  placed  a  stigma  on  the 
worker;  when  a  woman's  right  to  speak  in  public  was  more  bit- 
terly contested  than  her  right  to  the  suffrage  is  to-day.  The 
storm  of  ridicule  and  denunciation  which  broke  over  the  heads 
of  the  women  who  took  part  in  this  convention  never  has  been 
exceeded  in  the  coarsest  and  most  vituperative  political  cam- 
paign ever  conducted.  The  attacks  were  led  by  the  pulpit,  whose 
influence  fifty  years  ago  was  far  greater  than  at  present  and 
whose  power  over  women  was  supreme.  The  press  of  the  coun- 
try did  not  suffer  itself  to  be  outdone;  but,  taking  its  cue  from 


12  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

the  metropolitan  papers  of  New  York,  contributed  its  full  quota 
of  caricature  and  misrepresentation. 

At  the  beginning  of  1848,  the  English  Common  Law  was  in 
force  practically  everywhere  in  the  United  States.  Its  treatment 
of  women  was  a  blot  on  civilization  only  equalled  in  blackness  by 
the  slavery  of  the  negro.  The  latter,  technically  at  least,  has  now 
disappeared.  The  former  dies  slowly,  because  it  cannot  be  eradi- 
cated by  fire  and  sword.  Lord  Coke  called  this  Common  Law 
"the  perfection  of  reason."  Under  its  provisions  the  position  of 
the  wife  was  thus  stated  by  Blackstone : 

"The  very  being  or  existence  of  the  woman  is  suspended  during 
the  marriage,  or  at  least  is  incorporated  and  consolidated  into  that 
of  the  husband,  under  whose  wing,  protection  and  covert  she  per- 
forms everything.  She  is,  therefore,  called  in  our  .Law- French  a 
feinme-covert,  is  said  to  be  co cert-baron,  or  under  the  protection  and 
influence  of  her  husband,  her  baron  or  lord. 

"The  husband  also,  by  the  old  law,  might  give  his  wife,  mod- 
erate correction.  For,  as  he  is  to  answer  for  her  misbehavior,  the 
law  thought  it  reasonable  to  intrust  him  with  this  power  of  re- 
straining her  by  domestic  chastisement  in  the  same  moderation 
that  a  man  is  allowed  to  correct  his  apprentices  or  children;  But 
this  power  of  correction  was  confined  within  reasonable  bounds, 
and  the  husband  was  prohibited  from  using  any  violence  to  his 
wife,  except  as  lawfully  and  reasonably  belongs  to  a  husband  for 
the  sake  of  governing  and  disciplining  his  wife.  The  Civil  Law 
gave  the  husband  the  same  or  a  larger  authority  over  his  wife, 
allowing  him  for  some  misdemeanors  to  beat  his  wife  severely  with 
whips  and  cudgels;  for  others  only  to  administer  moderate  chastise- 
ment." 

Other  provisions  of  this  law  were  as  follows : 

"By  marriage,  the  husband  and  wife  are  one  person  in  law,  that 
is,  the  legal  existence  of  the  woman  is  merged  in  that  of  her  hus- 
band. He  is  her  baron  or  lord,  bound  to  supply  her  with  shelter, 
food,  clothing  and  medicine,  and  is  entitled  to  her  earnings  and  the 
use  and  custody  of  her  person,  which  he  may  seize  wherever  he 
may  find  it." 

"The  husband,  being  bound  to  provide  for  his  wife  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  and  being  responsible  for  her  morals  and  the  good 
order  of  the  household,  may  choose  and  govern  the  domicile,  select 
her  associates,  separate  her  from  her  relatives,  restrain  her  religious 
and  personal  freedom,  compel  her  to  cohabit  with  him,  correct  her 
faults,  by  mild  means,  and,  if  necessary,  chastise  her  with  modera- 
tion, as  though  she  was  his  apprentice  or  child.  This  is  in  respect 
to  the  terms  of  the  marriage  contract  and  the  infirmity  of  the  sex." 

It  does  not  seem  necessary  to  add  further  particulars  as  to  the 
condition  of  women  in  the  middle  of  the  century  just  closed  and 
at  the  time  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  began  the  almost  superhuman 
task  of  setting  them  free  from  the  bondage  of  centuries.  The 
first  cleft  in  the  infamy  of  the  Common  Law  was  made  almost 
simultaneously  by  the  legislatures  of  New  York,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  the  spring  of  1848,  by  special  statutes  giving  a  married 
woman  the  right  to  hold  property.  This  was  the  first  glimmer  of 
freedom  from  legal  slavery  which  ever  had  appeared  to  women ; 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  scarcely  penetrated  the  darkness 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  13 

in  which  they  had  been  enveloped  for  untold  ages,  or  that  they 
rejected  with  scorn  those  who  came  to  deliver  them. 

To  follow  in  detail  the  steps  by  which  women  have  reached 
their  present  position  of  comparative  social,  educational,  finan- 
cial and  legal  independence,  would  be  to  write  a  chapter  for  each 
of  the  fifty  years  which  have  intervened  since  the  first  few  brave 
souls  dared  lift  up  their  voices  in  a  cry  for  liberty.  The  organ- 
ized movement  for  the  emancipation  of  women  began  in  earnest 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  Every  one  of  the  past 
thirty-five  years  has  witnessed  the  breaking  of  a  link  in  the  chain. 
The  going  forth  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  from  the  farm, 
the  work-shop,  the  factory,  the  store — from  every  field  of  em- 
ployment— to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  army,  made  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  women  to  step  into  their  places  in  order  that  the 
countless  wheels  of  the  world's  work  should  not  stop.  The 
vacancies  left  by  those  who  never  returned,  and  the  rapidly-grow- 
ing tendency  to  remove  domestic  products  from  the  home  to  the 
factory,  practically  settled  the  question  of  woman's  entering  the 
wage-earning  occupations. 

The  period  immediately  after  the  war  was  marked  by  the 
speedy  increase  and  enlargement  of  state  universities  and  the 
admission  of  women.  Their  example  was  followed  by  many  of 
the  other  colleges  and  universities  of  the  country,  and  in  1890  by 
the  founding  of  the  two  great  endowed  institutions,  Stanford  and 
Chicago,  with  the  admission  of  women  to  every  department. 
Although  the  latter  has  just  made  the  egregious  blunder  of  modi- 
fying its  original  plan,  this  action  represents  only  the  individual 
scheme  of  one  man  and  not  a  reactionary  tendency.  The 
question  of  the  higher  education  of  woman  may  be  regarded  as 
decided  in  her  favor. 

The  right  of  women  to  organize  for  public  work  is  now  univer- 
sally recognized  and  approved.  They  have  at  present  in  the 
United  States  over  one  hundred  national  organizations,  with 
thousands  of  local  clubs  and  societies  comprising  millions  of 
members,  and  their  influence  over  the  general  conditions  of  the 
various  communities  is  beyond  computation.  The  right  of 
women  to  speak  in  public  is  not  only  everywhere  conceded  but, 
given  a  man  and  a  woman  with  equal  abilities,  the  average  audi- 
ence would  prefer  to  hear  the  latter. 

The  legal  features  of  the  revolution  have  been  quite  as  marked 
as  its  other  phases.  An  examination,  doubtless,  would  show  that 
in  not  one  state  does  the  Common  Law  now  prevail  in  its  en- 


14  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

tirety.  In  many  of  them  it  has  been  largely  obliterated  by  special 
statutes.  There  has  been  no  retrogressive  legislation  with  respect 
to  the  status  of  women  before  the  law.  In  the  majority  of  the 
states,  a  married  woman  may  now  own  and  control  property, 
carry  on  business  and  possess  her  earnings,  make  a  will  and  a 
contract,  bring  suit  in  her  own  name,  act  as  administrator  and 
testify  in  the  courts.  In  one-fifth  of  the  states,  she  has  equal 
guardianship  with  the  father  over  the  minor  children.  Where 
formerly  there  was  but  one  clause  for  divorce,  the  wife  may  now 
obtain  a  divorce  in  almost  every  state  for  habitual  drunkenness, 
cruelty,  failure  to  provide  and  desertion  on  the  part  of  the  hus- 
band; and  he  can  no  longer,  as  of  old  even  though  the  guilty 
party,  retain  sole  possession  of  the  children  and  the  property. 
The  general  tendency  of  legislation  for  women  is  progressive, 
and  there  is  not  a  doubt  that  this  will  continue  to  be  the  case. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  for  a  moment,  however,  as 
maintaining  that  woman  stands  on  a  perfect  equality  with  men 
in  any  of  the  above-mentioned  departments — in  the  industries, 
education,  organization,  public  speaking  or  the  laws.  She  simply 
has  made  immense  gains  in  all,  and  her  standing  has  been  com- 
pletely revolutionized  since  Mrs.  Stanton  announced  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  Reformation.  Woman  never  will  have  equality  of 
rights  anywhere,  she  never  will  hold  those  she  now  has  by  an 
absolute  tenure,  until  she  possesses  the  fundamental  right  of  self- 
representation.  This  fact  is  so  obvious  as  to  need  no  argument. 
Had  this  right  been  conceded  at  the  start,  the  others  would  have 
speedily  followed ;  and  the  leaders  among  women,  instead  of 
spending  the  last  half-century  in  a  constant  struggle  to  obtain 
their  civil  and  political  rights,  might  have  contributed  their 
splendid  services  to  the  general  upbuilding  and  strengthening  of 
the  government.  The  effort  for  this  most  important  of  rights 
has  had  to  contend  not  only,  like  the  rest,  with  the  obstinate 
prejudices  and  customs  of  the  ages,  but  also  with  the  still  more 
stubborn  condition  of  its  hard  and  fast  intrenchment  in  constitu- 
tional law.  It  is  not  merely  a  board  of  trustees  or  a  body  of 
legislators  who  must  be  converted  to  the  justice  of  extending  this 
right  to  women,  but  also  the  great  masses  of  men,  including  the 
ignorant,  the  foreign-born,  the  small-minded  and  the  vicious.  A 
majority  of  the  men  in  every  state  must  give  their  consent  at  the 
ballot  box  for  women  to  come  into  possession  of  this  paramount 
right.  Such  has  not  been  the  case  with  any  other  step  in  the 
progress  of  women. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  15 

It  is  not  necessary  to  consider  the  minor  reasons  why  the 
enfranchisement  of  women  has  been  so  long  deferred;  but,  in 
spite  of  the  almost  insuperable  obstacles,  there  has  been  consid- 
erable progress  in  this  direction.  In  some  states,  the  legislatures 
themselves  can  confer  a  fragmentary  suffrage  without  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  voters.  This  has  been  done  in  about  half  of  them, 
Kansas  granting  the  municipal  franchise,  Louisiana,  Montana, 
and  New  York,  a  taxpayers'  franchise,  and  twenty-two  states  a 
vote  on  matters  connected  with  the  public  schools.  Within  the 
last  twelve  years,  four  states  have  conferred  the  full  suffrage  on 
women — Wyoming  and  Utah  by  placing  it  in  the  constitutions 
under  which  they  entered  statehood ;  Colorado  and  Idaho 
through  a  submission  of  the  question  to  the  voters.  There  is  a 
strong  basis  for  believing  that  within  a  few  years  several  other 
states  will  take  similar  action. 

The  effect  upon  women  themselves  of  these  enlarged  oppor- 
tunities in  every  direction  has  been  a  development  which  is  almost 
a  regeneration.  The  capability  they  have  shown  in  the  realm  of 
higher  education,  their  achievements  in  the  business  world,  their 
capacity  for  organization,  their  executive  power,  have  been  a 
revelation.  To  set  women  back  into  the  limited  sphere  of  fifty 
years  ago  would  be  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  whole  race. 
Their  evolution  has  been  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  devel- 
opment in  the  moral  nature  of  man,  his  ideas  of  temperance  and 
chastity,  his  sense  of  justice,  his  relations  to  society.  In  no 
department  of  the  world's  activities  are  the  higher  qualities  so 
painfully  lacking  as  in  politics,  and  this  is  the  only  one  from 
which  women  are  wholly  excluded.  Is  it  not  perfectly  logical  to 
assume  that  their  influence  would  be  as  beneficial  here  as  it  has 
been  everywhere  else?  Does  not  logic  also  justify  the  opinion 
that,  as  they  have  been  admitted  into  every  other  channel,  the 
political  gateways  must  inevitably  be  opened? 

Review  of  Reviews.  44:725-9.  December,  1911. 

World  Movement  for  Woman  Suffrage.     Ida  H.  Harper. 

In  1888,  when  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
the  leaders  of  this  movement  in  the  United  States,  where  it 
began,  attempted  to  cooperate  with  other  countries,  they  found 
that  in  only  one — Great  Britain — had  it  taken  organized  shape. 
By  1902,  however,  it  was  possible  to  form  an  International  Com- 
mittee, in  Washington,  D.  C.,  with  representatives  from  five  coun- 
tries. Two  years  later,  in  Berlin,  the  International  Woman 


16  '  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

Suffrage  Alliance  was  formed  with  accredited  delegates  from 
organizations  in  nine  countries.  This  Alliance  held  a  congress  in 
Stockholm  during  the  past  summer  with  delegates  from  national 
associations  in  twenty-four  countries  where  the  movement  for 
the  enfranchisement  of  women  has  taken  definite,  organized  form. 

At  the  November  election,  1910,  the  men  of  Washington,  by 
a  vote  of  three  to  one,  enfranchised  the  women  of  that  state. 
Eleven  months  later,  in  October,  1911,  a  majority  of  the  voters 
conferred  the  suffrage  on  the  400,000  women  of  California 
These  two  elections  doubtless  marked  the  turning  point  in  this 
country.  In  1890  Wyoming  came  into  the  Union  with  suffrage 
for  women  in  its  constitution  after  they  had  been  voting  in  the 
territory  for  twenty-one  years.  In  1893  the  voters  of  Colorado, 
by  a  majority  of  6,347,  gave  full  suffrage  to  women.  In  1895  the 
men  of  Utah,  where  as  a  territory  women  had  voted  seventeen 
years,  by  a  vote  of  28,618  ayes  to  2,687  noes,  gave  them  this  right 
in  its  constitution  for  statehood.  In  1896  Idaho,  by  a  majority  of 
5,844,  fully  enfranchised  its  women. 

It  was  believed  then  that  woman  suffrage  would  soon  be  car- 
ried in  all  the  western  states,  but  at  this  time  there  began  a  period 
of  complete  domination  of  politics  by  the  commercial  interests  of 
the  country,  through  whose  influence  the  power  of  the  party 
"machines"  became  absolute.  Temperance,  tariff  reform,  control 
of  monopolies,  all  moral  issues  were  relegated  to  the  background 
and  woman  suffrage  went  with  the  rest.  To  the  vast  wave  of 
"insurgency"  against  these  conditions  is  due  its  victory  in  Wash- 
ington and  California.  It  seems  impossible  that  Oregon,  which 
is  to  pass  on  the  question  next  year,  will  longer  withhold  the 
ballot  from  women.  Kansas  and  Wisconsin  also  have  submitted 
it  to  the  election  of  1912,  with  a  good  chance  of  success  espe- 
cially in  the  former.  As  many  women  are  already  fully  enfran- 
chised in  this  country  as  would  be  made  voters  by  the  suffrage 
bill  now  under  consideration  in  Great  Britain,  so  that  American 
women  taken  as  a  whole  cannot  be  put  into  a  secondary  position 
as  regards  political  rights.  While  women  householders  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  have  the  municipal  franchise,  a  much  larger 
number  in  this  country  have  a  partial  suffrage — the  municipal  in 
Kansas;  a  vote  on  questions  of  special  taxation,  bonds,  etc.,  in 
Louisiana,  Iowa,  Montana,  Michigan  and  in  the  villages  and 
many  third-class  cities  in  New  York,  and  school  suffrage  in  over 
half  of  the  states. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  17 

Great  Britain 

The  situation  in  Great  Britain  is  now  at  its  most  acute 
stage.  There  the  question  never  goes  to  the  voters  but  is 
decided  by  Parliament.  Seven  times  a  woman  suffrage  bill 
has  passed  its  second  reading  in  the  House  of  Commons  by 
a  large  majority,  only  to  be  refused  a  third  and  final  reading 
by  the  Premier,  who  represents  the  ministry,  technically 
known  as  the  government.  In  1910  the  bill  received  a  ma- 
jority of  no,  larger  than  was  secured  even  for  the  budget, 
the  government's  chief  measure.  In  1911  the  majority  was 
167.  and  again  the  last  reading  was  refused.  The  vote  was 
wholly  nonpartisan — 145  Liberals,  53  Unionists,  31  National- 
ists (Irish),  26  Labor  members.  Ninety  town  and  county 
councils,  including  those  of  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Edin- 
burgh, Glasgow,  Dublin  and  those  of  all  the  large  cities  sent 
petitions  to  Parliament  to  grant  the  final  vote.  The  Lord 
Mayor  of  Dublin  in  his  robes  of  state  appeared  before  the 
House  of  Commons  with  the  same  plea,  but  the  Liberal  gov- 
ernment was  unmoved. 

In  the  passing  years  petitions  aggregating  over  four  mil- 
lion signatures  have  been  sent  in.  Just  before,  the  recent  elec- 
tion the  Conservative  national  association  presented  one  signed 
by  300,000  voters.  In  their  processions  and  Hyde  Park 
gatherings  the  women  have  made  the  largest  political  demon- 
strations in  history.  There  have  been  more  meetings  held, 
more  money  raised  and  more  workers  enlisted  than  to  obtain 
suffrage  for  the  men  of  the  entire  world. 

From  the  beginning  the  various  associations  have  asked 
for  the  franchise  on  the  same  terms  as  granted  to  men,  not 
all  of  whom  can  vote.  For  political  reasons  it  seemed  im- 
possible to  obtain  this,  and  meanwhile  the  so-called  "mili- 
tant" movement  was  inaugurated  by  women  outraged  at  the 
way  the  measure  had  been  put  aside  for  nearly  forty  years. 
The  treatment  of  these  women  by  the  government  forms  one 
of  the  blackest  pages  in  English  history,  and  the  situation 
finally  became  so  alarming  that  the  Parliament  was  obliged 
to  take  action.  A  Conciliation  committee  was  formed  of 


i8  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

sixty  members  from  all  parties  who  prepared  a  bill  that 
would  enfranchise  only  women  householders,  those  who  al- 
ready had  possessed  the  municipal  franchise  since  1869.  This 
does  not  mean  property  owners,  but  includes  women  who 
may  pay  rent  for  only  one  room.  The  associations  accepted 
it  partly  because  it  recognized  the  principle  that  sex  should 
not  disqualify,  but  principally  because  it  was  unquestionably 
all  that  they  could  get  at  present.  This  is  the  bill  which 
has  been  denied  a  third  reading  for  two  years  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  not  democratic  enough!  A  careful  canvass  has 
shown  that  in  the  different  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom 
from  80  to  90  per  cent  of  those  whom  it  would  enfranchise 
are  wage  or  salary-earning  women,  and  not  one  Labor  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  voted  against  it.  Unable  any  longer  to 
withstand  the  pressure  Premier  Asquith  gave  the  pledge  of 
the  ministry  that  full  facilities  for  the  bill  should  be  allowed 
at  the  next  session  of  Parliament. 

His  sudden  announcement  on  November  7,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment would  bring  in  a  manhood  suffrage  bill — one  vote 
for  every  adult  male  but  none  for  women — has  altered  the 
whole  situation,  and  the  struggle  for  the  conciliation  bill  will 
probably  be  changed  to  one  for  recognition  of  women  in 
this  new  measure. 

Women  in  England  have  been  eligible  for  school  boards 
since  1870;  have  had  the  county  franchise  since  1888;  have 
been  eligible  for  parish  and  district  councils  and  for  various 
boards  and  commissions  since  1894,  and  hundreds  have 
served  in  the  above  offices.  In  1907,  as  recommended  in  the 
address  of  King  Edward,  women  were  made  eligible  as 
mayors  and  county  and  city  councillors,  or  aldermen.  Three 
or  four  have  been  elected  mayors,  and  women  are  now  sit- 
ting on  the  councils  of  London,  Manchester,  and  other 
cities.  The  municipal  franchise  was  conferred  on  the  women 
of  Scotland  in  1882,  and  of  Ireland  in  1898. 

The  Irishwomen's  Franchise  league  demands  that  the 
proposed  home  rule  bill  shall  give  to  the  women  of  Ireland 
the  same  political  rights  as  it  gives  to  men.  This  demand  is 
strongly  supported  by  many  of  the  Nationalist  members  of 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  19 

Parliament  and  some  of  the  cabinet,  and  it  is  not  impossible 
that  after  all  these  years  of  oppression  the  women  of  Ire- 
land may  be  fully  enfranchised  before  those  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Wales. 

In  the  Isle  of  Man  women  property  owners  have  had  the 
full  suffrage  since  1881,  and  women  rate-  or  rent-payers, 
since  1892. 

English    Colonies 

The  Parliament  of  New  Zealand  gave  school  suffrage  to 
women  in  1877,  municipal  in  1886,  and  parliamentary  in  1893. 
It  was  the  first  country  in  the  world  to  grant  the  complete 
universal  franchise  to  women. 

The  six  states  of  Australia  had  municipal  suffrage  for 
women  from  the  early  days  of  their  self-government.  South 
Australia  gave  them  the  right  to  vote  for  its  state  parlia- 
ment, or  legislature,  in  1894,  and  West  Australia  took  similar 
action  in  1899.  The  States  federated  in  a  Commonwealth  in 
1902  and  almost  the  first  act  of  its  national  parliament  was 
to  give  the  suffrage  for  its  members  to  all  women  and  make 
them  eligible  to  membership.  New  South  Wales  immediate- 
ly conferred  state  suffrage  on  women,  and  was  soon  followed 
by  Tasmania  and  Queensland.  Victoria  yielded  in  1909. 
Women  of  Australia  have  now  exactly  the  same  franchise 
rights  as  men. 

In  all  the  provinces  of  Canada  for  the  last  twenty  years 
widows  and  spinsters  who  are  rate-payers  or  property  own- 
ers have  had  the  school  or  municipal  suffrage,  in  some  in- 
stances both,  and  in  a  few  this  right  is  given  to  married 
women.  There  has  been  some  effort  to  have  this  extended 
to  state  and  federal  suffrage,  but  with  little  force  except  in 
Toronto,  where  in  1909  a  thousand  women  stormed  the 
House  of  Parliament,  with  a  petition  signed  by  100.000 
names. 

When  the  South  African  Union  was  formed  its  constitu- 
tion took  away  from  women  tax-payers  the  fragmentary 
vote  they  possessed.  Petitions  to  give  them  the  complete 
suffrage,  signed  by  4000  men  and  women,  were  ignored. 


20  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Franchise  leagues  are  working  in  Cape  Colony,  Natal,  and 
the  Transvaal,  and  their  efforts  are  supported  by  General 
Botha,  the  premier;  General  Smuts,  Minister  of  the  Interior; 
Mr.  Cronwright,  husband  of  Olive  Schreiner,  and  other  mem- 
bers of  Parliament,  but  the  great  preponderance  of  Boer 
women  over  English  will  prevent  this  English  controlled 
body  from  enfranchising  women  in  the  near  future. 

There  are  cities  in  India  where  women  property  owners 
have  a  vote  in  municipal  affairs. 

Scandinavia 

Parliament  of  Norway  in  1901  granted  municipal  suffrage 
to  all  women  who  in  the  country  districts  pay  taxes  on  an 
income  of  300  crowns  (about  $75),  and  in  the  cities  on  one 
of  400  crowns;  and  they  were  made  eligible  to  serve  on 
councils  and  grand  and  petit  juries.  After  strenuous  effort 
on  the  part  of  women  the  Parliament  of  1907,  by  a  vote  of 
96  to  23,  conferred  the  complete  franchise  on  all  who  posses- 
sed the  municipal.  This  included  about  300,000  of  the  half- 
million  women.  They  were  made  eligible  for  Parliament, 
and  at  the  first  election  in  1909  one  was  elected  as  alter- 
nate or  deputy,  and  last  year  took  her  seat  with  a  most  en- 
thusiastic welcome  from  the  other  members.  In  1910.  by  a 
vote  of  71  to  10,  the  tax-paying  qualification  for  the  munici- 
pal vote  was  removed.  In  1911,  a  bill  to  abolish  it  for  the 
full  suffrage  was  carried  by  a  large  majority  in  Parliament, 
but  lacked  five  votes  of  the  necessary  two-thirds.  It  will 
pass  next  year.  More  than  twice  as  many  women  as  voted 
in  1907  went  to  the  polls  in  1910  at  the  municipal  elections. 
Last  year  178  women  were  elected  to  city  councils,  nine  to 
that  of  Christiania.  This  year  210  were  elected  and  379 
alternates  to  fill  vacancies  that  may  occur. 

Sweden  gave  municipal  suffrage  to  tax-paying  widows 
and  spinsters  in  1862.  At  that  time  and  for  many  years 
afterward  not  one-tenth  of  the  men  had  a  vote.  Then  came 
the  rise  of  the  Liberal  party  and  the  Social  Democracy,  and 
by  1909  the  new  franchise  law  had  been  enacted,  which  im- 
mensely increased  the  number  of  men  voters,  extended  the 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  '    21 

municipal  suffrage  to  wives,  greatly  reduced  the  tax  qualifica- 
tion, and  made  women  eligible  to  all  offices  for  which  they 
could  vote.  At  the  last  election  37  were  elected  to  the  coun- 
cils of  34  towns,  ii  in  the  five  largest.  The  Woman  suffrage 
association  is  said  to  be  the  best  organized  body  in  the 
country,  its  branches  extending  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle.  It 
has  over  12.000,  paid  members  and  has  held  1550  meetings 
within  a  year.  In  1909  a  bill  to  extend  the  full  suffrage  to 
women  passed  the  second  chamber  of  the  Parliament  unani- 
mously, but  was  defeated  by  four  to  one  in  the  first  chamber 
representing  the  aristocracy.  This  year  the  Suffrage  asso- 
ciation made  a  strong  campaign  for  the  Liberal  and  Social 
Democratic  parties,  and  a  large  majority  of  their  candidates 
were  elected.  The  Conservative  cabinet  was  deposed  and  the 
King  has  called  for  a  new  election  of  the  first  chamber. 
As  its  members  are  chosen  by  the  provincial  councils  and 
those  of  the  five  largest  cities,  and  women  have  a  vote  for 
these  bodies  and  are  members  of  them,  they  will  greatly 
reduce  the  number  of  Conservative  members  of  the  upper 
house.  On  the  final  passage  of  a  suffrage  bill  the  two  cham- 
bers must  vote  jointly  and  it  seems  assured  of  a  majority. 
It  looks  as  if  Sweden  would  be  the  next  country  to  enfran- 
chise women. 

Denmark  may  claim  this  honor.  Her  Parliament  in  1908 
gave  the  municipal  suffrage  to  women  on  the  same  terms  as 
exercised  by  men — that  is,  to  all  over  25  years  of  age  who 
pay  any  taxes.  Property  owned  by  husband  or  wife  or  In 
common  entitles  each  to  a  vote.  At  the  first  election  68  per 
cent  of  all  the  enfranchised  women  in  the  country,  and  70 
per  cent  in  Copenhagen,  voted.  Seven  were  elected  to  the 
city  council  of  42  members  and  one  was  afterward  appointed 
to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  127  were  elected  in  other  places.  Wom- 
en serve  on  all  committees  and  are  chairmen  of  important 
ones;  two  are  city  treasurers.  There  are  two  suffrage  asso- 
ciations whose  combined  membership  makes  the  organiza- 
tion of  that  country  in  proportion  to  population  the  largest 
of  the  kind  in  the  world.  They  have  314  local  branches  and 
one  of  the  associations  has  held  1100  meetings  during  the 


22  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

past  year.  The  Lower  House  of  Parliament  has  passed  a 
bill  to  give  women  the  complete  franchise,  which  has  not 
been  acted  on  by  the  Upper  House,  composed  mainly  of  the 
aristocracy.  The  Prime  Minister  and  the  Speakers  of  both 
houses  are  outspoken  in  advocacy  of  enfranchising  women, 
but  political  considerations  are  holding  it  back.  All  say, 
however,  that  it  will  come  in  the  near  future. 

Iceland,  a  dependency  of  Denmark,  with  its  own  Parlia- 
ment, gave  municipal  suffrage  in  1882  to  all  widows  and 
spinsters  who  were  householders  or  maintained  a  family,  or 
were  self-supporting.  In  1902  it  made  these  voters  eligible 
to  all  municipal  offices,  and  since  then  a  fourth  of  the  coun- 
cil members  of  Reykjavik,  the  capital,  have  been  women.  In 
1909  this  franchise  was  extended  to  all  those  who  pay  taxes. 
A  petition  signed  by  a  large  majority  of  all  the  women  in 
Iceland  asked  for  the  complete  suffrage,  and  during  the 
present  year  the  Parliament  voted  to  give  this  to  all  women 
over  25  years  old.  It  must  be  acted  upon  by  a  second  Par- 
liament, but  its  passage  is  assured,  and  Icelandic  women  will 
vote  on  the  same  terms  as  men  in  1913. 

Russia  and  Her  Dependencies 

First  place  must  be  given  to  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Fin- 
land, far  more  advanced  than  any  other  part  of  the  empire. 
In  1905,  by  permission  of  the  Czar,  after  a  wonderful  upris- 
ing of  the  people,  they  reorganized  their  government  and 
combined  the  four  antiquated  chambers  of  their  Diet  into  one 
body.  The  next  year,  on  demand  of  thousands  of  women 
expressed  by  petitions  and  public  meetings,  this  new  Parlia- 
ment, almost  without  a  dissenting  voice,  conferred  the  full 
suffrage  on  all  women.  Since  that  time  from  16  to  25  have 
been  elected  to  the  different  Parliaments  by  all  the  political 
parties. 

In  Russia  women  as  well  as  men  are  struggling  for  poli- 
tical freedom.  In  many  of  the  villages  wives  cast  the  votes 
for  their  husbands  when  the  latter  are  away;  women  have 
some  suffrage  for  the  zemstvos,  local  governing  bodies;  the 
Duma  has  tried  to  enlarge  their  franchise  rights,  but  at 
present  these  are  submerged  in  the  general  chaos. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  23 

In  Poland  an  active  League  for  woman's  rights  is  cooper- 
ating with  the  Democratic  party  of  men. 

Austria-Hungary  and   the  Balkans 

A  very  strong  movement  for  woman  suffrage  is  proceed- 
ing against  great  difficulties  in  the  seventeen  provinces  of 
Austria,  where  almost  as  many  languages  are  spoken  and 
the  bitterest  racial  feuds  exist.  Women  are  not  allowed  to 
form  political  associations  or  hold  public  meetings,  but  4000 
have  paraded  the  streets  of  Vienna  demanding  the  suffrage. 
In  Bohemia  since  1864  women  have  had  a  vote  for  members 
of  the  Diet  and  are  eligible  to  sit  in  it.  In  all  the  municipali- 
ties outside  of  Prague  and  Liberic,  women  taxpayers  and 
those  of  the  learned  professions  may  vote  by  proxy.  Wom- 
en belong  to  all  the  political  parties  except  the  Conservative 
and  constitute  40  per  cent  of  the  Agrarian  party.  They  are 
well  organized  to  secure  the  full  suffrage  and  are  holdirfg 
hundreds  of  meetings  and  distributing  thousands  of  pam- 
phlets. In  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  women  property  owners 
vote  by  proxy. 

In  Hungary  the  National  woman  suffrage  association  in- 
cludes many  societies  having  other  aims  also,  and  it  has 
branches  in  87  towns  and  cities,  combining  all  classes  of 
women  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  peasants.  Men  are  in  a 
turmoil  there  to  secure  universal  suffrage  for  themselves  and 
women  are  with  them  in  the  thick  of  the  fight.  The  Inter- 
national woman  suffrage  alliance  will  meet  in  Budapest  in 


Bulgaria  has  a  Woman  suffrage  association  composed  of 
37  auxiliaries  and  it  held  456  meetings  during  the  past  year. 

In  Servia  women  have  a  fragmentary  local  vote  and  are 
now  organizing  to  claim  the  parliamentary  franchise. 

Germany 

It  was  not  until  1908  that  the  law  was  changed  which  for- 
bade women  to  take  part  in  political  meetings,  and  since  then 
the  Woman  suffrage  societies,  which  existed  only  in  the  free 


24  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

cities,  have  multiplied  rapidly.  Most  of  them  are  concen- 
trating on  the  municipal  franchise,  which  those  of  Prussia 
claim  already  belongs  to  them  by  an  ancient  law.  In  a  num- 
ber of  the  states  women  landowners  have  a  proxy  vote  in 
communal  matters,  but  have  seldom  availed  themselves  of  it. 
In  Silesia  this  year,  to  the  amazement  of  everybody,  2000 
exercised  this  privilege*  The  powerful  Social  Democratic 
party  stands  solidly  for  enfranchising  women. 

The   Netherlands  and  Belgium 

A  few  years  ago  when  the  Liberal  party  was  in  power  it 
prepared  to  revise  the  constitution  and  make  woman  suffrage 
one  of  its  provisions.  In  1907  the  Conservatives  carried  the 
election  and  blocked  all  further  progress.  Two  active  suf- 
frage associations  approximate  a  membership  of  8000,  with 
nearly  200  branches,  and  are  building  up  public  sentiment. 

Belgium  in  1910  gave  women  a  vote  for  members  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  an  important  tribunal,  and  made  them  elig- 
ible to  serve  on  it.  A  woman  suffrage  society  is  making  con- 
siderable progress. 

Switzerland  and  Italy 

Switzerland  has  had  a  woman  suffrage  association  only  a 
few  years.  Geneva  and  Zurich  in  1911  made  women  eligible 
to  their  boards  of  trade  with  a  vote  for  its  members,  and 
Geneva  gave  them  a  vote  in  all  matters  connected  with  the 
state  church. 

Italy  has  a  well-supported  movement  for  woman  suffrage, 
and  a  discussion  in  Parliament  showed  a  strong  sentiment  in 
favor.  Mayor  Nathan,  of  Rome,  is  an  outspoken  advocate. 
In  1910  all  women  in  trade  were  made  voters  for  boards  of 
trade. 

France 

The  woman  suffrage  movement  in  France  differs  from 
that  of  most  other  countries  in  the  number  of  prominent 
men  in  politics  connected  with  it.  President  Fallieres  loses 
no  opportunity  to  speak  in  favor  and  leading  members  of  the 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  25 

ministry  and  the  Parliament  approve  it.  Committees  have 
several  times  reported  a  bill,  and  that  of  M.  Dussaussoy  giv- 
ing all  women  a  vote  for  municipal,  district  and  general 
councils  was  reported  with  full  parliamentary  suffrage  added. 
Last  year  163  members  asked  to  have  the  bill  taken  up. 
Finally  it  was  decided  to  have  a  committee  investigate  the 
practical  working  of  woman  suffrage  in  the  countries  where 
it  existed.  Its  extensive  and  very  favorable  report  has  just 
been  published,  and  the  woman  suffrage  association  states 
that  it  expects  early  action  by  Parliament.  More  than  one- 
third  of  the  wage-earners  of  France  are  women,  and  these 
may  vote  for  tribunes  and  chambers  of  commerce  and  boards 
of  trade.  They  may  be  members  of  the  last  named  and 
serve  as  judges. 

Portugal,  Spain,  and  Other  Countries 

The  constitution  of  the  new  Republic  of  Portugal  gave 
"universal"  suffrage,  and  Dr.  Beatrice  Angelo  applied  for 
registration,  which  was  refused.  She  carried  her  case  to  the 
counts,  her  demand  was  sustained  and  she  cast  her  vote.  It 
was  too  late  for  other  women  to  register,  but  an  organiza- 
tion of  1000  women  was  at  once  formed  to  secure  definite 
action  of  Parliament,  with  the  approval  of  President  Braga 
and  several  members  of  his  cabinet. 

The  Spanish  Chamber  has  proposed  to  give  women  heads 
of  families  in  the  villages  a  vote  for  mayor  and  council. 

A  bill  to  give  suffrage  to  women  was  recently  introduced 
in  the  Parliament  of  Persia  but  was  ruled  out  of  order  by 
the  president  because  the  Koran  says  women  have  no  souls. 

Siam  'has  lately  adopted  a  constitution  which  gives  wom- 
en a  municipal  vote. 

Several  women  voted  in  place  of  their  husbands  at  the 
recent  election  in  Mexico.  Belize,  the  capital  of  British  Hon- 
duras, has  just  given  the  right  to  women  to  vote  for  town 
council. 

Throughout  the  entire  world  is  an  unmistakable  tendency 
to  accord  women  a  voice  in  the  government,  and,  strange  to 
say,  this  is  stronger  in  monarchies  than  in  republics.  In  Eu- 


26  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

rope  the  republics  of  France  and  Switzerland  give  almost  no 
suffrage  to  women.  Norway  and  Finland,  where  they  have 
the  complete  franchise;  Sweden,  Denmark,  Iceland,  and 
Great  Britain,  where  they  have  all  but  the  parliamentary, 
and  that  close  at  hand,  are  monarchies.  New  Zealand  and 
Australia,  where  women  are  fully  enfranchised,  are  depen- 
dencies of  a  monarchical  government. 


Independent.  71:  967-70.  November  2,   1911. 
Woman  Suffrage  in  Six  States.     Ida  H.  Harper. 

When  on  November  8,  1910,  the  state  of  Washington,  by 
a  very  large  majority  vote  of  its  electors,  gave  the  complete 
franchise  to  women  citizens  the  subject  of  woman  suffrage 
passed  from  the  stage  of  academic  discussion  to  that  of  a 
live,  practical  question;  and  when  on  October  10,  191 1,  Cali- 
fornia fully  enfranchised  the  women  of  that  state  it  became 
one  of  the  political  issues  of  the  day.  This  fact  was  evident 
at  once  in  the  attitude  of  the  press,  which  in  its  news  reports 
gave  woman  suffrage  equal  if  not  superior  place  to  the  refer- 
endum, recall  and  other  important  constitutional  amendments 
which  were  passed  upon  at  this  recent  California  election. 
It  was  equally  noticeable  in  the  editorials,  especially  of 
papers  heretofore  opposed,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  New 
York  Tribune,  which  said:  "Now  that  Washington  with 
1,142,000  population,  and  California  with  2,377,000,  have 
shown  their  desire  to  put  the  political  equality  idea  into 
practice,  the  pressure  behind  it  will  become  more  acute  and 
the  larger  and  older  states  will  have  to  take  more  serious 
notice  of  its  existence." 

The  experiment  heretofore  in  the  United  States  has  been 
made  in  the  four  comparatively  new  and  sparsely  settled 
states  of  Wyoming,  Colorado.  Utah  and  Idaho,  where  wom- 
en are  greatly  outnumbered  by  men  and  no  large  cities  exist 
with  their  complicated  political  and  social  problems.  While 
it  is  true  that  human  nature  is  the  same  everywhere,  yet  it 
must  be  admitted  that  in  these  four  states  there  has  not  been 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  27 

an  opportunity  for  such  a  real  test  of  woman  suffrage  as 
would  be  necessary  to  influence  the  older  and  more  thickly 
populated  ones.  Denver,  with  a  little  less  than  214,000  in- 
habitants, has  afforded  the  most  conspicuous  example  for 
study. 

Now  that  the  question  of  woman  suffrage  is  to  receive 
more  attention  it  may  be  of  interest  to  examine  its  history 
in  the  United  States  up  to  date.  The  very  first  demand  for 
it  was  made  by  women  of  Eastern  States,  which  will  be  the 
last  to  grant  it — Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, of  New  York;  Lucretia  Mott.  of  Philadelphia;  Lucy 
Stone,  of  Boston,  and  a  score  or  two  more  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished women  of  sixty  years  ago.  The  first  recognition 
of  the  principle  by  any  state  was  made  by  progressive  Kan- 
sas, which  came  into  the  Union  in  1861  with  school  suffrage 
for  women  in  its  Constitution.  No  further  advance  was 
made  until  1869,  when  the  first  legislative  council  was  in 
session  after  the  organization  of  Wyoming  as  a  territory. 
Mrs.  Esther  Morris,  who  with  her  husband  had  gone  out 
from  New  York  as  a  pioneer,  appealed  to  the  president  of 
the  council  Col.  William  H.  Bright,  for  a  bill  enfranchising 
women.  She  was  sustained  by  his  wife,  and  he  succeeded  in 
having  the  bill  passed.  The  council  was  Democratic  and  it 
hoped  to  embarrass  the  Republican  Governor,  John  A.  Camp- 
bell, whom  it  expected  to  veto  the  bill.  On  the  contrary,  he 
signed  it;  and  when  two  years  later  the  council  repealed  it 
he  vetoed  the  repeal.  The  council  was  unable  to  pass  it  over 
his  veto  and  no  effort  to  abolish  woman  suffrage  was  ever 
again  made  in  Wyoming.  Mrs.  Morris  was  appointed  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  of  the  nearly  forty  cases  she  tried  none 
ever  was  appealed  to  a  higher  court.  Women  sat  on  juries 
from  the  beginning  and  have  continued  to  fill  various  offices 
down  to  the  present  day. 

In  1889  a  convention  composed  entirely  of  men  met  to 
form  a  constitution  for  statehood,  and  after  twenty  years' 
experience  they  adopted  unanimously  as  its  first  clause 
"equal  political  rights  for  all  male  and  female  citizens."  The 
constitution  was  ratified  by  more  than  a  three-fourths  ma- 


28  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

jority  of  the  people  and  sent  to  Congress  for  approval.  That 
body,  always  hostile  to  the  enfranchisement  of  women,  fought 
for  three  days  to  have  this  first  clause  eliminated  and  the 
territorial  delegate  telegraphed  to  Wyoming  that  it  looked 
as  if  this  would  have  to  be  done.  The  Legislature,  which 
was  in  session,  wired  back,  "We  will  remain  out  of  the 
Union  a  hundred  years  rather  than  come  in  without  woman 
suffrage."  The  same  struggle  took  place  in  the  United 
States  Senate  and  pages  of  the  Congressional  Record  were 
filled  with  awful  senatorial  prophecies  as  to  what  would  hap- 
pen to  the  country  if  Wyoming  should  come  into  the  Union 
with  women  voters.  After  days  of  oratory  they  were  obliged 
to  face  the  calamity,  and  President  Harrison  signed  the  bill 
admitting  the  new  state  in  June,  1890.  Thus  Wyoming  be- 
became  the  first  commonwealth  in  the  world's  history  to 
grant  to  women  the  same  rights  in  the  government  that  men 
possessed.  The  official  statistics  show  that  about  90  per 
cent  of  the  women  qualified  cast  their  votes  at  the  annual 
elections.  Not  one  man  of  prominence  has  ever  voiced  pub- 
licly the  slightest  opposition,  while  volumes  of  favorable 
testimony  from  those  eminent  in  all  departments  of  the 
state's  activities  have  been  published.  Again  and  again  the 
Legislature  has  adopted  resolutions  expressing  the  highest 
approval  of  woman  suffrage,  urging  other  states  to  adopt  it 
and  calling  upon  Congress  to  submit  an  amendment  of  the 
National  Constitution  to  the  various  legislatures. 

We  come  now  to  the  second  state  which  has  fully  en- 
franchised women — Colorado.  When  it  made  its  constitu- 
tion for  statehood  in  1876  it  refused  the  entreaties  of  the 
women  to  provide  in  this  for  their  enfranchisement,  but  it 
gave  them  school  suffrage.  The  curious  provision  was  made 
that  the  Legislature  of  the  new  state  might  at  any  time  by 
a  majority,  instead  of  the  two-thirds  required  for  amend- 
ments, enact  a  law  to  extend  the  suffrage  without  amend- 
ing the  Constitution,  but  the  law  must  be  approved  by  the 
majority  of  the  voters;  and  it  was  ordered  that  such  a  law 
should  be  submitted  at  the  first  election  after  the  state  came 
into  the  Union.  This  was  done  in  1877  and  the  men,  glorying 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  29 

in  their  own  newly-acquired  rights,  defeated  the  measure 
by  a  vote  of  two  to  one.  The  women  were  discouraged  and 
the  matter  rested  till  the  early  'QO'S,  when  there  were  many 
more  of  them,  and  they  began  to  organize  their  forces.  In 
1893  the  Legislature  was  in  entire  control  of  the  Populists 
and  a  woman  suffrage  bill  was  again  sent  to  the  voters. 
Men,  too,  had  progressed  during  these  years  and  at  the 
November  election  it  received  a  majority  in  favor  of  6,347. 

The  women  entered  at  once  upon  their  new  duties  and 
the  official  records  show  that  during  all  the  past  eighteen 
years  they  have  voted  in  quite  as  large  a  proportion  as  men. 
They  have  evinced  no  especial  desire  for  office,  but  more 
than  a  dozen  have  been  elected  to  the  Legislature  and  scores 
to  the  various  county  offices.  The  office  of  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  has  always  been  filled  by  a 
woman.  They  serve  on  state  boards  and  commissions  and 
are  eligible  to  jury  service.  The  testimony  in  favor  of  the 
way  they  have  used  their  ballot  is  overwhelming  and  from 
the  highest  sources — justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  gov- 
ernors, presidents  of  colleges,  clergymen,  editors.  Not  one 
Colorado  man  or  woman  of  prominence  has  ever  given  pub- 
lic expression  to  a  derogatory  word.  The  strongest  proof 
of  the  success  of  woman  suffrage  in  this  state,  however,  came 
ten  years  after  it  had  been  in  operation.  The  suffrage  clause 
in  the  Constitution  permitted  immigrants  to  vote  on  their 
first  papers  and  six  months'  residence.  An  amendment  was 
submitted  in  1903  requiring  a  year's  residence  and  using  the 
words  "he  or  she."  It  was  adopted,  by  18,000  majority  and 
it  safely  intrenched  woman  suffrage  in  the  constitution  of 
the  state.  With  the  Populist  party  eliminated  the  vote  for 
it  was  three  times  as  large  as  before  it  had  been  tried.  If 
this  increase  was  due  to  the  women  it  showed  they  appre- 
ciated their  voting  power  and  wished  to  make  it  secure;  if 
it  was  due  to  men  it  proved  they  were  satisfied.  In  either 
case  the  result  was  decisive. 

In  1895,  two  years  after  the  Colorado  victory,  a  conven- 
tion of  Utah  men  assembled  to  make  a  constitution  for 
statehood.  The  Legislature  in  1870  had  given  full  suffrage 


30  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

to  women — as  it  had  power  to  do  in  a  territory — and  they 
had  used  it  largely  until  1887.  That  year  Congress,  thru 
some  inscrutable  logic,  took  away  the  franchise  from  all  the 
women,  Gentile  as  well  as  Mormon,  to  stop  the  practice  of 
polygamy!  This  convention  was  composed  of  both  Gentiles 
and  Mormons,  and  after  a  thoro  discussion  a  strong  woman 
suffrage  plank  was  put  into  the  new  Constitution.  At  the 
November  election  it  was  submitted  to  Gentile  and  Mormon 
voters  and  carried  by  28,618  ayes,  2,687  noes.  This  was  the 
answer  of  Utah  men  after  an  experience  with  woman  suf- 
frage of  seventeen  years.  This  Constitution  received  no  ob- 
jection by  Congress.  The  women  of  this  state  were  far 
better  organized  and  worked  much  harder  for  their  political 
freedom  than  those  of  any  other  up  to  that  time.  They 
have  used  their  franchise  generally  and  wisely;  no  com- 
plaints or  criticisms  have  ever  come  from  Utah  to  the  con- 
trary. Women  have  been  sent  to  both  houses  of  the  Legis- 
lature, have  rilled  state,  county  and  city  offices,  served  on 
many  boards  and  gone  as  delegates  to  Presidential  conven- 
tions. 

The  story  of  Idaho  is  short  and  there  is  no  great  struggle 
for  the  ballot  to  record.  It  was  admitted  into  the  Union  in 
1890.  Before  and  after  that  year  Mrs.  Abigail  Scott  Duni- 
way,  the  pioneer  suffragist  of  Oregon,  had  canvassed  terri- 
tory and  state  and  appealed  to  the  Legislature  and  constitu- 
tional convention.  She  was  strongly  supported  by  individual 
men  and  women  of  Idaho,  but  there  was  no  organized  effort 
until  1893.  The  Republicans  were  in  full  control  of  the 
Legislature  in  1895  and  the  resolution  to  submit  an  amend- 
ment was  almost  unanimous.  The  next  year  Republican, 
Democratic,  Populist  and  Free  Silver  party  conventions  en- 
dorsed it  and  it  was  carried  at  the  November  election  by  a 
vote  of  almost  two  to  one.  At  the  next  election  three  wom- 
en were  sent  to  the  Legislature;  one  State  Superintendent 
of  Instruction;  fifteen  county  superintendents,  four  county 
treasurers  elected.  This  proportion  has  been  kept  up  and 
there  have  been  a  number  of  deputy  sheriffs  elected.  There 
is  nothing  but  the  highest  testimony  as  to  the  part  of  women 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  31 

in  the  politics  of  the  state.  They  constitute  42  per  cent 
of  the  population  and  by  the  official  statistics  they  cast  40 
per  cent  of  the  vote  in  Boise,  the  capital,  and  over  35  per 
cent  in  the  rest  of  the  state.  The  hardships  of  getting  to 
the  polls  thru  the  snow  and  over  the  mountains  can  hardly 
be  described.  Women  sometimes  ride  twenty  miles  on 
horseback  to  vote. 

After  this  gain  of  four  states  in  six  years  by  the  suffragists 
the  opponents  took  active  measures  to  prevent  the  submis- 
sion of  the  question  in  other  states.  In  the  few  cases  where 
this  was  done  the  combination  of  corporations,  liquor  inter- 
ests and  party  "machines"  was  impossible  to  overcome.  The 
domination  of  politics  by  these  forces  was  so  complete  that 
there  was  no  chance  for  any  moral  questions,  and  nothing 
was  left  but  the  slow  process  of  educating  public  sentiment 
to  demand  that  the  voice  of  women  should  be  heard  in  this 
wilderness.  Then  came  the  great  "insurgent"  movement  in 
the  western  states  and,  as  the  direct  result,  the  submitting  of 
a  woman  suffrage  amendment  in  1910  by  almost  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Washington  Legislature.  Here  again  there  had 
been  practical  experience.  In  1883  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture gave  to  women  the  full  rights  of  the  ballot  and  at  the 
spring  election  and  again  in  the  autumn  they  cast  one-fourth 
of  the  votes,  altho  there  were  less  than  one-third  as  many 
women  as  men  in  the  territory.  During  the  three  and  a  half 
years  that  they  possessed  the  suffrage  the  official  returns 
several  times  showed  a  larger  percentage  of  women  than  of 
men  voting,  even  with  all  the  physical  handicaps  of  these 
pioneer  days.  In  1886,  some  question  of  constitutionality 
having  arisen,  the  Legislature  strengthened  the  act.  In  1887 
the  vicious  elements  secured  a  court  verdict  that  the  bill  was 
not  properly  titled  and  the  Legislature  passed  it  a  third  time 
perfect  in  every  respect. 

A  convention  was  about  to  prepare  a  constitution  for 
statehood  and  these  elements  were  determined  it  should  not 
include  woman  suffrage.  It  was  arranged  that  at  the  spring 
election  of  1889  the  vote  of  a  certain  saloon  keeper's  wife 
should  be  refused.  Her  case  was  rushed  thru  to  the  Supreme 


32  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Court,  and  two  out  of  three  members  decided  that  the  equal 
suffrage  law  was  void  because  a  territorial  legislature  had  no 
right  to  extend  the  suffrage!  The  very  act  under  which 
Washington  was  organized  specifically  gave"  it  this  right, 
and  under  a  similar  act  women  had  voted  twenty-one  years 
in  the  territory  of  Wyoming  and  seventeen  in  that  of  Utah. 
This  decision  is  only  matched  by  that  in  the  Dred  Scott 
case  in  1857.  The  women  were  illegally  disfranchised,  they 
were  excluded  from  the  new  Constitution  and  all  they  could 
obtain  was  the  submission  that  year  of  woman  suffrage  as  a 
separate  question.  They  were  not  themselves  allowed  to 
vote  on  it  and  it  was  said  to  be  defeated  by  over  19,000. 
Nine  years  later,  in  1898.  the  women  summoned  courage  to 
make  another  campaign  and  then  the  majority  against  them 
was  announced  to  be  considerably  less  than  10,000.  Years 
afterward  a  man  who  had  taken  part  in  them  stated  publicly 
that  the  most  barefaced  frauds  were  committed  and  that  the 
amendment  really  had  been  carried. 

In  1910  came  the  political  revolution  in  Washington, 
where  the  voters  threw  off  the  "machine"  yoke  and  honest 
men  of  all  parties  secured  a  free  election  and  a  fair  count. 
The  women  made  the  ablest  campaign  for  the  suffrage  ever 
known,  with  the  splendid  result  that  it  was  carried  in  every 
county  in  the  state  and  received  a  majority  of  nearly  three  to 
one — the  largest  victory  ever  achieved.  The  way  in  which 
they  registered  by  the  tens  of  thousands  in  Seattle  the  fol- 
lowing month,  "recalled"  the  Mayor,  turned  out  the  council 
and  chief  of  police  and  regenerated  the  city — and  later  per- 
formed the  same  service  for  Tacoma — this  is  of  too  recent 
date  to  need  extended  mention.  It  advanced  the  cause  of 
woman  suffrage  thruout  the  whole  country  and  across  the 
ocean  on  either  side. 

The  first  results  were  seen  in  California,  which  in  the 
state  at  large  had  been  swept  clean  of  its  corrupt  political' 
forces  by  the  great  wave  of  insurgency.  The  press  repre- 
sentatives who  had  been  going  to  Sacramento  for  years  said 
they  never  had  seen  so  able,  sincere  and  upright  a  body  of 
men  as  the  legislators  who  submitted  the  reform  amend- 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  33 

ments,  all  of  which  were  adopted  at  the  recent  election,  in- 
cluding woman  suffrage.  The  women  remembered  with  anguish 
of  spirit  the  magnificent  campaign  they  had  made  in  1896  only 
to  be  betrayed  and  sold  by  the  political  leaders.  With  largely 
augmented  numbers  and  full  of  faith  in  the  new  order  they 
made  the  fight,  but  it  required  the  decent  men  of  the  whole 
state  to  overcome  the  corrupt  vote  of  San  Francisco  and  Oak- 
land. Now  in  ai  state  that  has  been  in  the  Union  over  sixty 
years,  and  in  several  big  cities,  we  shall  have  the  supreme 
test  of  woman  suffrage.  Will  another  year  see  victory  in 
Oregon  and  women  enfranchised  on  the  entire  Pacific  Coast? 


Harper's  Bazar.   46:  148.    March,  1912. 

Votes  for  Women :  Victory  Coming  in  Sweden. 

Ida  H.  Harper. 

In  opening  the  new  Parliament  the  King  has  announced 
that  the  government  will  present  a  bill  for  this  purpose  [total 
enfranchisement  of  women],  and  as  the  government  means 
the  party  in  power,  this  bill  is  sure  to  pass.  At  the  elections 
last  fall  the  Conservatives  were  voted  out  of  office  and  the 
Liberals  and  Social  Democrats  were  voted  in.  The  women 
of  the  Suffrage  association  worked  very  hard  to  achieve  this 
result,  as  the  Conservatives  had  defeated  their  bill  more  than 
cnce  and  intended  to  keep  on  doing  so,  while  the  other  parties 
were  pledged  to  its  support. 

No  women  more  fully  deserve  the  franchise  than  those 
of  Sweden.  They  have  worked  for  many  years  to  obtain  it, 
and  it  is  said  that  a  larger  proportion  are  enrolled  in  the 
Suffrage  association  than  in  any  other  country.  In  their  never- 
ceasing  efforts  they  have  used  always  the  most  orderly  and 
dignified  methods,  appealing  to  man's  sense  of  justice  and 
standing  on  their  right  to  a  voice  in  their  own  government. 
For  half  a  century  tax-paying  widows  and  unmarried  women 
have  had  the  municipal  franchise,  and  a  few  years  ago  this 


34  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

was  extended  to  wives  and  all  women  were  made  eligible  to 
the  offices  for  which  they  could  vote.  At  the  last  election 
thirty-five  were  elected  to  city  councils,  nine  to  that  of  Stock- 
holm. Until  three  or  four  years  ago  only  a  small  proportion 
of  men  possessed  the  suffrage,  but  then  the  tax-paying  qualifi- 
cation was  made  so  small  that  now  not  more  than  one-fourth 
of  the  men  are  disfranchised.  Women  will  be  admitted  to 
the  electorate  on  the  same  terms  as  men,  and  doubtless  in  the 
near  future  all  restrictions  for  both  will  be  abolished. 

This  proposed  act  of  the  Swedish  Parliament  will  hasten 
the  day  when  all  the  women  of  the  Scandinavian  countries 
will  be  fully  enfranchised.  In  all  of  them  now  they  have  every- 
thing but  the  parliamentary  suffrage,  that  is,  in  Sweden,  Norway, 
Denmark  and  Iceland.  In  Norway  they  have  the  complete 
franchise  with  a  very  small  tax-paying  qualification  which  will 
probably  be  removed  by  the  present  Parliament.  It  has  just 
passed  a  bill  making  women  eligible  to  all  public  offices  except 
that  of  membership  in  the  king's  cabinet,  those  of  the  state 
church  and  those  in  the  diplomatic  and  military  service.  They 
were  already  eligible  as  members  of  Parliament  and  one  was 
elected  last  year.  Hundreds  have  been  elected  to  town  and 
county  councils.  A  number  are  sitting  on  the  council  in  Copen- 
hagen and  other  cities  in  Denmark,  while  one-third  of  the 
council  of  Reyjavik,  the  capital  of  Iceland,  is  composed  of 
women.  A  bill  to  give  women  the  full  suffrage  has  passed 
one  Icelandic  Parliament  and  is  sure  to  have  its  final  passage 
in  the  next.  A  similar  bill  has  twice  been  adopted  by  the 
Danish  Lower  House  and  will  ultimately  get  through  the  Upper 
Housc,  which  is  largely  composed  of  the  aristocracy.  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  political  freedom  for  the  women  of  Scan- 
dinavia is  near  at  hand. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  35 

Harper's  Bazar.  46:  258.  May,  1912. 
Votes    for    Women.     Ida   H.    Harper. 

•In  our  own  country  there  is  encouragement  on  every  side. 
The  Kentucky  Legislature  hy  a  large  majority  in  both  Houses 
has  granted  to  all  women  who  can  read  and  write  a  vote 
on  all  matters  connected  with  the  public  schools  and  eligibility 
to  all  school  affairs.  The  most  significant  feature  of  this 
victory  is  that  the  bill  was  sponsored  by  the  State  federation 
of  women's  clubs. 

The  convention  of  119  men,  sitting  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  to 
remodel  the  constitution  of  that  state,  has  voted  more  than 
two  to  one  to  add  an  amendment  giving  full  suffrage  to  women. 
All  amendments  must  be  acted  upon  by  the  electors  and  this 
one  must  run  the  risk  of  defeat. 

In  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Kansas  and  Oregon  constitutional 
amendments  have  been  submitted  to  confer  the  complete  suf- 
frage on  women,  and  these  will  be  voted  on  in  November. 
In  Oregon  the  suffragists  are  receiving  an  unusual  amount  of 
assistance  from  men,  who  have  formed  a  strong  Men's  suf- 
frage league.  They  feel  that  it  is  high  time  they  should  do 
for  the  women  of  their  state  what  the  men  of  California 
to  the  south,  Washington  the  north  and  Idaho  to  the  east 
have  done,  and  it  is  almost  unthinkable  that  they  would  allow 
the  enemies  of  woman  suffrage  to  defeat  the  measure.  Here, 
too,  it  is  a  great  joy  to  see  the  women's  clubs  aroused  to  their 
responsibilities  and  allying  themselves  with  the  work  of  the 
Suffrage  association. 

In  Kansas  the  wives  of  the  governor,  chief  justice  of  the 
supreme  court,  chancellor  of  the  university  and  a  former 
governor  are  at  the  head  of  the  organized  work,  while  \vomen 
in  all  parts  of  the  state  are  opening  a  lively  campaign. 

Proximity  in  Chicago  will  enable  Wisconsin  and  Michigan 
to  have  the  help  of  that  city's  leading  suffragists,  among  them 
the  beloved  Jane  Addams. 

The    legislatures    of    Maryland    and    Virginia    have    rejected 


36  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

the  woman-suffrage  bills  by  large  majorities.  Over  six  hun- 
dred of  the  leading  women  of  Maryland  went  before  that 
legislature  and  saw  their  bill  treated  with  such  contempt  that 
they  went  home  in  a  very  "militant"  state  of  mind.  In 
Massachusetts,  at  the  request  of  the  State  federation  of  labor, 
the  Suffrage  association  gave  them  full  charge  of  the  bill, 
although  assisting  in  the  arguments  before  the  legislators. 
It  was  defeated,  of  course,  but  by  the  smallest  majority  on 
record. 

New  York  has  caused  the  suffragists  the  longest  contest 
of  any  state.  Only  a  few  times  has  it  ever  been  possible  to 
get  the  bill  out  of  the  committees  so  as  to  compel  the  legisla- 
tors to  show  their  colors.  This  winter  has  been  one  of  those 
times,  and  the  bill  passed  both  houses,  but  was  reconsidered 
and  laid  on  the  table.  The  women  of  New  Jersey  succeeded 
in  forcing  the  bill  out  of  committee  and  may  get  a  vote  on  it. 
These  instances  show  that  the  suffragists  are  gaining. 

In  California  and  Washington  the  women  have  passed 
beyond  this  phase  of  the  struggle.  They  say  it  still  seems 
like  a  dream,  that  it  is  all  over,  and  that  they  can  now  take 
up  the  great  work  they  have  longed  to  do  but  could  not 
because  they  were  absorbed  in  trying  to  get  the  means  by 
which  to  do  it.  They  are  being  placed  on  boards  and  com- 
mittees of  all  kinds  and  say  that  never  before  did  they  know 
the  true  meaning  of  the  word  "chivalry." 


Woman's  Journal.  43:  223.  July  27,  1912. 

Portugal  Gives  Votes  to  Women. 

From  the  new  Portuguese  Republic  comes  the  report  that 
under  the  Electoral  law,  just  passed,  a  limited  number  of 
women  in  Portugal  have  been  given  the  parliamentary  franchise. 
The  same  law  puts  a  property  qualification  on  the  men,  but 
so  slight  a  one  that  manhood  suffrage  is  practically  estab- 
lished. However,  the  number  of  women  enfranchised  by  this 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  37 

law   will  be  comparatively  small  because  of  the   age   limit  and 
educational  test. 

About  a  year  ago  Dr.  Carolina  Angelo,  a  woman  who  since 
died,  entered  her  name  on  the  registry  as  a  citizen.  Her 
application  for  the  vote  formed  a  test  case.  The  judge  ruled 
that  she  was  entitled  to  citizenship.  By  this  legal  decision 
women  in  Portugal  were  declared  eligible  for  the  franchise  on 
the  same  grounds  as  men.  By  the  new  law,  the  Senate  has 
now  partially  confirmed  this  legal  decision  by  granting  the 
vote  to  women  over  25  years  of  age,  who  have  passed  a  certain 
educational  test. 


AFFIRMATIVE  DISCUSSION 

Woman's  Journal.  43:  57.  February  24,  1912. 
Votes  for  Women  Should  Be  Granted.     Joseph  V.  Denney. 

The  movement  to  secure  equal  suffrage  is  part  of  the  larger 
movement  to  realize  the  democratic  ideal  in  human  society. 
Its  growth  is  coincident  with  society's  growing  esteem  for  the 
individual. 

In  the  progress  of  legislation  and  judicial  interpretation  con- 
cerning women  and  their  rights  and  privileges,  one  fact  stands 
out  in  prominence.  Each  concession  has  been  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  individual  personality.  At  the  time  when  our  fore- 
fathers declared  that  governments  derive  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed,  it  was  not  recognized  anywhere  in  ^ 
law.  or  in  human  society  that  a  woman  is  a  complete  and  self- 
competent  personality.  Now  that  fact  has  been  so  far  estab- 
lished in  human  society  and  law  as  to  warrant  full  governmental 
recognition.  The  mark  and  badge  of  full  governmental  recog- 
nition of  personality  is  the  ballot. 

If  full  recognition  is  not  the  logical  end,  the  granting  of 
partial  rights  should  never  have  been  begun.  Women  should 
have  been  kept  in  complete  subjection,  higher  education  should 
have  continued  to  be  a  thing  denied,  and  the  theoretical  unity 
of  every  woman  with  some  man  should  not  have  been  invaded 
by  the  humane  progress  of  legislation  and  legal  interpretation. 
Logically,  the  granting  of  partial  suffrage  calls  for  the  granting 
of  complete  suffrage.  Most  of  our  states  have  granted  suffrage 
to  women  on  some  subjects,  and  six  have  granted  com- 
plete suffrage.  It  is  no  wonder  that  Englishwomen,  even 
though  they  have  voting  power  on  practically  everything  except 
for  members  of  Parliament,  still  remain  unsatisfied,  nay,  are 


40  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

more  discontented  than  ever  before.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
American  women,  who  have  been  given  a  partial  franchise,  also 
want  the  logical  process  completed.  They  have  been  given 
rights  in  larger  and  larger  measure;  they  have  been  permitted  a 
more  public  sphere  of  ordinary  activity;  economic  pressure  has 
turned  millions  of  them  into  bread-winners;  and  the  social 
status  of  all  of  them  has  been  so  altered  that  the  last  step  must 
now  be  taken  or  all  previous  steps  are  meaningless.  They  have 
been  educated  up  to  the  very  point  when  the  last  prize  is  just 
before  them,  and  it  must  not  be  denied.  They  have  been  per- 
mitted to  attain  a  state  of  self -competency,  and  the  one  mark  of 
self-competency — the  badge  of  sovereignty,  the  highest  govern- 
mental recognition  of  individual  personality — must  now  be  con- 
ferred. 

The  proposal  for  a  plebiscite  of  women  to  decide  in  any 
state  whether  that  state  should  provide  for  their  complete 
enfranchisement  is  based  upon  no  fundamental  idea  of  suf- 
frage. It  is  not  even  a  fundamental  question  to  ask  whether 
they  would  use  the  ballot  if  they  had  it.  No  set  of  people, 
either  in  America  or  in  Europe,  on  the  eve  of  possible  enfran- 
chisement, was  ever  required  to  meet  such  tests.  Rights  have 
always  been  extended  on  high  grounds  of  public  justice  and 
morality,  and  in  recognition  of  personality.  Suffragists  do  not 
fear  such  tests;  but  the  tests,  if  applied,  would  not  be  decisive. 
The  case  does  not  rest  finally  on  the  wishes  of  the  set  of  people 
to  be  benefited,  or  upon  the  use  they  will  make  of  the  privi- 
lege. It  rests  finally  upon  the  moral  obligation  of  a  free  state 
to  recognize  a  person  as  a  person.  The  statement  of  the 
British  statesman  applies  with  much  greater  force  to  the  women 
of  to-day  than  it  did  to  any  class  ever  before  enfranchised — 
"A  .free  government  and  a  large  number  of  people  excluded 
from  its  privileges  cannot  exist  together." 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  41 

United  States.  Senate.   Hearings  before  a  Joint   Committee 

of  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  and  the  Committee 

on  Woman   Suffrage.   March   13,   1912.   pp.   10-2. 

Statement  of  Mrs.  Elsie  C.  Phillips. 

There  is  sometimes  danger  in  any;  great  question  of  this 
kind,  which  presents  a  thousand  phases,  that  we  are  going  to 
lose  sight  of  the  underlying  principles  involved,  and  I  think  it 
best,  even  though  it  seems  simple,  to  go  back  to  first  principles 
and  consider  the  real  basis  of  the  ballot. 

Now,  the  right  to  vote  is  based,  first  and  foremost  and 
primarily,  on  the  democratic  theory  of  government,  the  theory 
of  government  to  which  this  country  was  committed  in  the 
great  phase  that  "The  just  powers  of  government  are  derived 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed."  What  does  that  mean? 
Does  it  not  mean  that  there  is  no  class  so  wise,  so  benevolent 
that  it  is  fitted  to  govern  for  any  other  class,  no  matter  how 
wise  or  benevolent  that  ruling  class  may  be?  Does  it  not  mean 
that,  in  order  to  have  a  democratic  government,  we  must  be 
sure  that  every  adult  in  the  community  has  an  opportunity  to 
express  his  opinion  as  to  how  he  wishes  to  be  governed,  and  to 
have  that  opinion  counted?  A  vote  is,  in  the  last  analysis,  an 
expression  of  a  need — either  a  personal  need  known  to  you  as 
an  individual,  as  it  can  be  known  to  no  one  else,  or  an  expres- 
sion of  a  need  of  those  in  whom  you  are  interested — sister- 
women  or  children,  for  instance.  The  moment  that  one  gets 
that  concept  of  the  ballot,  the  moment  one  grants  that  it  rests 
on  that  democratic  theory — upon  which  is  based  the  whole  claim 
for  any  adult  suffrage,  men  or  women — that  moment  a  large 
part,  practically  all,  of  the  antisuffrage  argument  is  done  away 
with.  For  instance,  take  the  theory  that  women  are  "repre- 
sented" by  men.  The  theory  of  republican  government  rests, 
does  it  not,  on  the  theory  of  delegated  authority?  Now,  it  is 
perfectly  obvious  to  any  reasonable  being  that  one  can  not  dele-  < 
gate  what  he  never  had.  Until  women  have  the  vote,  they  can 


42  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

not  delegate  the  vote.  Again,  even  if  that  were  not  a  logical  and 
practical  impossibility,  there  remains  the  other  fact  that  men 
can  not  know  the  needs  of  woman  as  women  know  them ;  and 
if,  as  is  true  democratically,  a  ballot  is  an  expression  of  a  need 
and  opinion  as  to  how  that  need  shall  be  met,  surely  the  men, 
having  a  different  life  experience  from  the  women,  can  not 
adequately  express  woman's  need  or  know  how  it  should  be  met. 

I  will  give  an  instance,  right  from  the  progressive  state  of 
Wisconsin,  of  which  we  are  all  justly  proud.  The  men  there 
are  noted  throughout  the  country  for  having  put  through  the 
legislature  the  most  progressive  social  legislation  that  this 
country  has  yet  seen.  No  one  doubts  for  a  moment  that  the 
men  in  that  progressive  state  desire  to  see  justice  for  women 
just  as  much  as  for  men.  But  there  are  certain  frightful  gaps 
in  that  legislation  that  show  that  it  is  'impossible  for  men,  with 
the  best  intentions  in  the  world,  to  understand  and  legislate 
for  the  needs  of  women.  To  take  an  instance,  there  is  no 
reformatory  for  women  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  If  a  woman 
commits  a  crime  or  a  misdemeanor  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
it  is  either  jail  or  prison;  there  is  no  halfway  substitute.  More 
fundamental,  and  very  much  more  important  than  that,  is  the 
fact  that  in  this  progressive  state,  where  undoubtedly  the  men 
wish  to  protect  the  women,  there  still  remains  the  fact  that 
women  have  not  equal  guardianship  of  their  children.  In  the 
state  that  is  regarded  as  the  foremost  in  progressive  legislation 
women  have  no  right  in  their  children;  not  only  have  they  no 
right  in  the  husband's  lifetime,  but  he  may, ,  in  his  will,  will  those 
children  to  anyone  whom  he  selects,  even  if  the  child  is  born 
after  his  death. 

Now  we  can  have,  it  seems  to  me,  no  better  proof  of  the 
fact  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  women  to  have  their  needs 
and  views  expressed  by  the  men  than  such  facts  as  these  con- 
cerning a  truly  progressive  body  of  men,  such  as  the  Wisconsin 
legislators  are. 

Again,  there  is  the  fact  that  the  ballot  is  fundamentally  a 
means  of  protecting  the  weak.  From  one  point  of  view  we 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  43 

might  say  that  that  little  slip  of  paper  represents  all  that  the 
human  race  has  achieved  in  the  democratic  struggle,  in  the 
struggle  of  the  democratic  mass  to  secure  for 'itself  some  con- 
trol over  its  own  living,  in  the  struggle  of  the  dispossessed  of 
this  earth  to  wrest  from  the  possessors  thereof  the  means 
of  controlling  their  own  standards  of  life  and  of  work. 

Now,  if  this  is  true,  as  it  seems  to  be,  for  the  pages  of 
history  show  how  in  the  workshop  of  time,  on  the  anvil  of  life, 
shaped  and  reshaped  by  the  hammer  and  blow  of  social  experi- 
ence, there  has  been  forged  at  last  this  so  potent  weapon,  ask 
yourself  for  what  it  has  been  forged?  Is  it  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of-  the  strong?  Oh,  no;  it  is  to  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  weak  a  weapon  of  self-protection.  And  who  are.  the  weak? 
Those,  of  course  who  are  economically  handicapped,  first  and 
foremost  the  working  classes  in  their  struggle  for  better  con- 
ditions of  life  and  labor.  And  who  among  the  workers  are  the 
weak?  Wherever  the  men  have  suffered,  the  women  have  suf- 
fered more.  That  point  will  be  brought  out  to  you  again  and 
again  in  the  plea  of  the  wage-earning  women. 

But  I  would  also  like  to  point  out  to  you  how  this  affects 
the  home-keeping  woman,  the  wife  and  mother,  of  the  working 
class,  aside  from  the  wage-earning  women  who  have  been 
pushed  by  economic  necessity  into  the  struggle  of  life.  Con- 
sider the  woman  who  is  at  home  and  must  make  both  ends  meet 
on  a  small  income.  Who  better  than  she  knows  whether  or  not 
the  cost  of  living  advances  more  rapidly  than  the  wage  does? 
Is  not  that  merely  a  true  statement,  in  the  most  practical  form, 
of  the  problem  of  the  tariff?  And  who  better  than  she  knows 
what  the  needs  of  the  workers  are  in  the  factories?  Take  the 
tenement-house  woman,  the  wife  and  mother  who  is  struggling 
to  bring  up'  a  family  under  conditions  which  constantly  make 
for  evil.  Who,  better  than  the  mother  who  has  tried  to  bring 
up  six  or  seven  children  in  one  room  in  a  dark  tenement  house, 
knows  the  needs  of  a  proper  building?  Who,  better  than  the 
mother  who  sees  her  boy  and  girl  playing  in  the  streets  and  in 
the  gutter,  knows  the  needs  of  playgrounds?  Who,  better  than 


44  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

a  mother,  knows  what  it  means  to  a  child's  life — which  you  men 
demand  that  she  as  a  wife  and  a  mother  shall  care  especially 
for — who,  better  than  she,  knows  the  cruel  pressure  that  comes 
to  that  child  from  too  early  labor  in  what  the  United  States 
census  report  calls  "gainful  occupations"? 

"But,"  you  may  say,  "these  women  are  ignorant;  how  can  we 
afford  to  allow  that  ignorant  vote  to  come  into  the  national  coun- 
cils?" Well,  you  know,  after  all,  ignorance  is  a  relative  term, 
is  it  not?  Certainly  this  body  is  too  intelligent  to  think  that 
education  in  the  schools  and  colleges  makes  necessarily  for 
intelligence  in  living.  Certainly  you  recognize  that  there  is  a 
practical  wisdom  that  comes  out  of  the  pressure  of  life,  and  an 
educational  force  in  life  itself  which  very  often  is  more  efficient 
than  that  which  comes  through  textbooks  or  college. 


Forum.    43:  593-602.    June,  1910. 
Will  of  the  People.     Carrie  C.   Catt. 

When  the  ownership  of  property  was  deemed  a  necessary 
qualification  for  the  vote,  as  it  still  is  in  most  lands,  "Tax- 
Vation  without  representation  is  tyranny"  was  the  only  plea 
offered  for  the  extension  of  the  suffrage  in  new  classes  of  men. 
The  colonial  battle  cry  did  not  mean  the  ballot;  it  meant  the 
collective  right  of  the  American  settlements  to  representation. 
Very  soon,  however,  when  the  new  constitutions  were  being 
formulated,  it  was  interpreted  to  apply  to  individual  men. 
Upon  that  basis,  and  for  that  reason,  the  vote  was  extended  to 
men  in  the  United  States,  and  by  that  claim  they  held  it  until 
a  broader  principle  eliminated  the  tax  qualification.  That  argu- 
ment still  holds  good ;  women  are  taxed.  In  the  one  state  of 
New  York,  women  hold  property  in  total  valuation  considerably 
higher  than  that  held  by  all  the  Colonists  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution.  It  is  manifestly  a  tyrannical  discrimination  to  take 
from  citizens  that  which  is  theirs  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a 
common  fund  to  be  expended  for  the  common  good,  when  some 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  45 

citizens  arc  permitted  to  vote  upon  that  expenditure  and  others 
are  not.  Opponents  triumphantly  exclaim  in  justification  of  this 
difference,  that  minors  and  foreigners  are  taxed.  True,  but  boys 
vote  at  twenty-one  years,  and  foreigners  may  do  so  after  a  five 
years'  residence,  while  the  distinction  in  the  case  of  women  is 
perpetual. 

Evidently  the  Colonists  were  not  equal  at  the  beginning  to 
the  enforcement  of  the  second  and  bolder  principle  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence:  "Governments  derive  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed."  Later,  under  the 
teachings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  it  was  interpreted  as  a  work- 
able proposition.  Its  advocates  said  in  its  defense  that  every 
man  had  a  stake  in  the  government,  and  therefore  he  must  have 
a  corresponding  ballot's  share  in  the  law  making  and  law  enforc- 
ing power  of  the  nation,  in  order  to  defend  his  stake;  that 
every  man  must  be  equally  interested  with  every  other  to 
develop  the  common  welfare  to  the  highest  degree  possible,  and 
therefore  he  must  have  his  opinion  counted. 

These  arguments  won,  and  for  this  reason  all  white  men 
not  yet  enfranchised  received  the  vote. 

A  century  ago,  government  by  the  "will  of  the  people,"  in 
the  country  meant  the  rule  of  rich  white  males  over  poor  white 
and  black  males.  Later  it  meant  the  rule  of  white,  Negro  and 
Indian  males,  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  over  all 
women.  But  women  are  people ;  they  are  taxed,  they  are  gov- 
erned, and  they  have  an  interest  in  the  common  good  to  be 
defended.  Every  reason  ever  urged  for  the  enfranchisement 
of  men  speaks  as  logically  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 
Manifestly,  if  the  powers  of  government  are  only  just  when 
founded  upon  the  "consent  of  the  governed,"  and  this  plea  gave 
the  vote  to  men,  the  powers  of  the  United  States  government 
are  not  just,  since  they  have  been  derived  from  the  consent  of 
half  the  governed.  Therefore,  women  are  asking  the  old  ques- 
tion with  the  modern  application:  How  does  it  happen  that 
men  are  born  to  govern,  and  we  to  obey?  Are  men  divinely 
ordained  to  be  perpetual  hereditary  sovereigns,  and  women  to 


46  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

be  hereditary  subjects?  If  this  is  the  order  where  is  the  proof? 
When,  where  and  to  whom,  did  God  or  Nature  reveal  the  fact? 
The  only  answer  ever  made  to  this  question  is  :  The  revelation 
is  found  in  the  instincts  of  men  and  women  who  shrink  in 
natural  righteous  horror  from  a  change  so  fundamental.  Alas, 
since  the  world  began,  the  ignorant  frightened,  "natural 
instincts"  of  the  masses  have  held  back  every  step  of  evolu- 
tion, and  have  inaugurated  many  a  bloody  "reign  of  terror." 
"Natural  instincts"  have  been  overturned  so  often  by  the  prog- 
ress of  civilization,  that  little  respect  for  such  authority  remains. 
In  fact  the  source  of  opposition  to  woman  suffrage  lies  in  the 
universal  distaste  for  new  things  and  not  in  instinct  at  all.  It  is 
merely  the  time-honored  fear,  which  "makes  us'  rather  bear 
these  ills  we  have,  than  fly  to  those  we  know  not  of." 

The  fears  of  the  Czar  of  Russia,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  the 
Shah  of  Persia  tell  them  as  certainly  that  men  have  no  claim 
to  the  suffrage,  as  those  of  the  American  legislator  tell  him  that 
women  have  no  political  rights.  The  fears  of  China  forbid  a 
woman  to  walk  on  natural  feet  and  the  fears  of  the  Turk  put 
his  womankind  in  the  harem.  The  fears  of  Mrs.  Humphry 
Ward  tell  her  it  is  consistent  with  the  natural  and  divine  order 
of  things  that  women  should  vote  in  municipal  elections,  but 
contrary  to  God  and  Nature  for  them  to  vote  for  members  of 
Parliament.  An  anti-suffragist  not  long  since  made  a  public 
plea  that  the  Board  of  education  in  the  City  of  New  York 
should  be  elective,  and  that  women  as  well  as  men  should  elect 
its  members;  yet  her  fears  told  her  that  the  highest  order  of 
society  would  be  overturned  should  the  same  women  vote  for 
mayor.  The  American  would  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  the 
fears  of  China  and  Turkey  which  deny  personal  liberty  to 
woman  as  expressions  of  brutal  barbarism.  The  Australian  who 
has  yielded  to  the  inevitable,  enfranchised  women,  and  recovered 
from  the  shock,  would  declare  with  as  firm  conviction  that  the 
American  who  grants  the  sovereignty  of  a  vote  to  the  immi- 
grants from  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  the  Negroes  and  Indians, 
and  yet  denies  it  to  women,  is  a  mere  democratic  masquerader. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  47 

Such  divergences  do  not  arise  from  intuition,  but   from  differ- 
ence in  enlightenment. 

Under  the  influence  of  steady  agitation  the  issue  grows 
simpler  every  year.  Woman  suffrage  is  already  an  established 
fact  on  one  fifteenth  of  the  earth's  territory;  and  from  Aus- 
tralia, Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  Norway,  Finland,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  Wales,  the  Isle  of  Man,  Denmark,  Iceland,  Wyoming, 
Colorado,  Utah,  Idaho  comes  the  same  overwhelming  testimony. 
With  opportunity  to  do  so,  women  vote  as  generally  as  do  men. 
They  vote  as  independently  and  as  intelligently.  They  do  not 
neglect  their  husbands,  or  children,  or  homes  for  politics.  They 
do  not  become  unsexed  and  poor  imitations  of  men.  There  is 
no  increase  of  divorces,  no  falling  off  in  the  number  of  mar- 
riages, or  the  number  of  births.  No  harm  in  any  way  has  come 
to  women,  to  men,  to  children,  or  to  the  states,  while  on  the 
contrary,  much  positive  good  has  been  accomplished. 

"Women  do  not  want  to  vote,  why  thrust  the  suffrage 
upon  them?"  The  incontrovertible  fact  is  that  no  class  of 
unenfranchised  men  in  any  land  ever  wanted  the  ballot  in  such 
large  proportion  to  the  total  number  as  do  women  of  the  United 
States ;  nor  is  there  a  single  instance  of  a  man  suffrage  move- 
ment so  persistent,  uncompromising  and  self-sacrificing  as  the 
woman  suffrage  movement.  Sooner  or  later,  just  men  will 
answer  this  excuse  for  postponing  legislative  action  in  the 
matter  by  the  counter  question,  why  demand  of  women  a  test 
never  made  of  men?  Since  it  is  proved  that  women  will  vote 
when  they  may,  is  that  not  sufficient?  The  suffrage  is  per- 
missive, not  mandatory ;  those  who  want  to  vote,  will  do  so, 
while  those  who  do  not  want  to  vote,  will  refrain  from  so 
doing.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  same  type  of 
women  who  now  protest  against  the  extension  of  the  suffrage, 
have  opposed  with  equal  vigor  every  step  of  progress  in  the 
woman  movement.  They  pronounced  the  effort  to  secure  to 
married  women  the  c'ontrol  of  their  own  property,  an  insult  to 
men.  They  united  their  anathemas  to  those  of  the  press  and 
pulpit  in  bitter  condemnation  of  the  early  women  college  grad- 


48  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

nates,  women  physicians  and  platform  speakers.  They  have 
never  sought  any  extension  in  privileges  with  one  exception. 
Twice  New  York  anti-suffragists  have  memorialized  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  states  to  request  that  women  should  be  appointed 
to  positions  upon  all  public  boards  possible,  as  a  suitable 
method  of  utilizing  the  wasting  talents  of  women  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  assuage  the  "growing  unrest  among  women"  on 
the  other.  As  these  women  have  availed  themselves  of  all  priv- 
ileges as  soon  as  established,  and  are  now  asking  for  public 
office,  which  is  commonly  regarded  as  an  adjunct  of  political 
power,  it  is  safe  to  assume,  that  they  will  exercise  the  suffrage 
when  once  it  is  obtained. 


North  American  Review.  193:  60-71.  January,  1911. 

Is  Woman   Suffrage  Important?     Max  Eastman. 

When  an  equal  proportion  of  all  classes  of  the  women's 
votes  is  called  out,  our  educated  and'  our  American-born  vote 
will  be  increased,  and  our  uneducated  and  foreign-born  vote 
decreased,  in  the  final  proportion.  Therefore,  while  we  can- 
not look  to  women's  votes  for  such  an  inundation  of  purity  as 
certain  chivalric  souls  would  love  to  think,  we  can  assure  our- 
selves of  no  deterioration,  but  on  the  contrary  an  increase 
through  them  of  the  average  intellectual  culture  and  acquaint- 
ance with  American  institutions  in  the  electorate. 

Moreover,  we  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  women,  even 
when  their  opportunity  and  the  demands  we  make  of  them 
are  as  great  as  they  should  be,  will  remain  in  certain  ways 
normally  different  from  men.  Women  are  mothers,  and 
men  are  not.  When  all  psychic  marvels  and  parlor  non- 
sense are  laid  aside,  that  is  the  scientist's  difference  be- 
tween men  and  women.  Women  inherit,  with  instinctive 
motherhood,  a  body  of  passionate  interests  that  men  only 
partially  share.  And  when  we  say  that  those  interests  are 
needed  in  government,  we  but  extend  to  the  state  as  a  whole 
a  generalization  already  applied  to  every  essential  part  of  it. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  49 

For  we  freely  acknowledge,  in  the  daily  progress  of  our 
lives,  that  women's  vital  intuitive  judgments  tend  often  to 
recall  us  from  our  theoretical  and  commercial  vagaries  to  the 
chief  issue,  the  conservation  of  human  resources.  An  exten- 
sion of  that  tendency  into  the  sphere  of  politics  will  appear 
less  incongruous  and  more  advisable  with  every  year  that 
the  profession  of  politics  continues  to  improve  as  it  is  now 
improving. 

Governments  are  more  and  more  approaching  the  real 
concerns  of  humanity.  All  those  moral  and  social  problems, 
the  preservation  of  health  and  safety,  the  regulation  of  hours 
and  conditions  of  labor,  the  guidance  of  competition,  even 
the  determination  of  wages  and  the  cure  of  poverty — prob- 
lems that  used  to  be  handled  by  a  few  supernormal  indivi- 
duals under  the  name  of  "Charity" — are  now  creeping  into 
the  daily  business  of  bureaus  and  legislatures.  This  civilizing 
of  government  is  a  process  which  we  must  further  with  all 
our  might,  that  ultimately  even  the  greatest  questions  of 
democratic  equality,  which  are  still  only  agitated  by  a  hand- 
full  of  noteworthy  idealists,  may  become  the  substance  of 
party  platforms  and  the  fighting-ground  of  practical  politics. 

It  is  not  justice  as  a  theoretical  ideal,  nor  feminine  vir- 
tue as  a  cure  for  politics,  but  democratic  government  as  the 
practical  method  of  human  happiness  that  compels  our 
minds.  The  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  progressed  so  far  as  it 
has,  in  intellectual  and  moral  and  material  culture,  largely 
because  it  has  carried  forth  the  great  venture  of  popular 
government.  We  have  learned  to  take  it  for  granted,  and 
so  to  forget,  tha-t  civil  liberty  is  the  foundation  of  our  good 
fortune,  but  we  ought  to  remind  ourselves  of  it  every  morn- 
ing. We  ought  to  remind  ourselves  that  we  are  the  van 
of  a  great  exploit.  Had  we  been  alive  when  the  daring 
plans  were  laid,  we  should  remember.  The  greatest  hypothe- 
sis in  the  history  of  moral  and  political  science  was  set  up 
in  this  laboratory,  and  our  business  is  to  try  out  the  experi- 
ment until  the  last  breath  of  hope  is  gone  out  of  us. 

The  democratic  hypothesis  is  that  a  state  is  good,  not 
when  it  conforms  to  some  general  eternal  ideal  of  what  a 


50  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

state  ought  to  be  or  do,  as  the  Greeks  thought,  but  when 
it  conforms  to  the  interests  of  particular  concrete  individ- 
uals— namely,  its  citizens,  all  that  are  in  mental  and  moral 
health;  and  that  the  way  to  find  out  their  interests  is  not 
to  sit  on  a  throne  or  a  bench  and  think  about  it,  but  go  aad 
ask  them.  Now  to  discriminate  against  an  approximate 
half  of  the  citizens — just  because  they  have,  as  we  say,  such 
different  interests  from  the  rest— is  to  betray  our  hypothesis 
and  destroy  our  experiment  at  its  crucial  point.  For  the 
whole  point  of  it  was  that  we  would  give  up  asking  an  ex- 
pert political  class  of  the  people  what  the  state  ought  to  do, 
and  go  down  and  ask  all  the  people,  expert  or  not  and  politi- 
cal or  not,  what  they  are  interested  in  having  it  do. 

Not  only  have  the  thinkers  of  the  world  waked  up  to  the 
fact  that  women  are  individuals,  an<J  so  to  be  counted  under 
this  theory  of  government,  but  the  world  itself  has  so 
changed  that  the  practical  necessity  of  applying  the  theory  to 
them  drives  itself  home.  We  need  but  open  our  minds  to 
the  facts.  With  the  advance  of  industrial  art  the  work  of 
women  has  gone  from  the  house  to  the  factory  and  market. 
Women  have  followed  it  there,  and  there  they  must  do  it 
until  this  civilization  perishes.  In  1900,  approximately  one 
women  in  every  five  in  the  United  States  was  engaged  in 
gainful  employment,  and  the  number  is  increasing.  Most  of 
these  women  have  no  choice  as  to  whether  they  will  work 
or  not,  and  many  of  them  are  working  in  circumstances  cor- 
ruptive  of  health  and  motherhood.  It  is,  therefore,  a  prob- 
lem vital  to  the  future  of  the  race  how  to  render  the  condi- 
tion of  industry  compatible  with  the  physical  and  moral 
health  of  women.  And  to  him  who  knows  human  nature 
and  the  deep  wisdom  of  representative  government,  it  is 
clear  that  the  only  first  step  in  solution  of  that  problem  is  to 
give  to  the  women  themselves  the  dignity  and  defence  of 
political  recognition. 

Compared  to  the  variety  of  their  needs,  and  the  subtlety 
of  the  disadvantages  under  which  they  enter  a  competitive 
system,  it  is  a  small  thing  to  give  them.  But  it  is  the  first 
and  manifest  thing.  It  is  the  ancient  antidote  of  that  preju- 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  51 

dice  which  everywhere  opposes  them,  and  its  smallness  is  not 
a  reason  for  withholding,  but  for  bestowing  it.  Give  them 
that  small  thing  for  which  Anglo-Saxon  men  have  grovelled, 
and  lied,  and  slaughtered,  and  perished,  for  a  thousand  years 
to  win — namely,  a  little  bit  of  the  personal  sacredness  of 
sovereigns  before  their  ruler  and  the  law.  A  small  thing,  but 
their  own,  and  an  indispensable  prerequisite  and  guarantee 
of  every  other  privilege  or  opportunity  you  may  hope  to 
confer  upon  them. 

Such  is  the  argument  from  the  ideal  of  democracy — 
theoretic,  practical,  and  coercive  in  the  concrete  present. 
Yet,  in  so  far  as  we  are  believers  in  the  progressive  enrich- 
ment of  life,  we  have  something  more  to  do  than  live  up  to 
our  ideals.  We  have  to  illumine  and  improve  them  con- 
tinually. The  Athenian  youths  had  a  running-match  in 
which  they  carried  torches,  and  it  was  no  victory  to  cross 
the  tape  with  your  torch  gone  out.  Such  is  the  race  that  is 
set  before  us.  And  we  may  well  remember — we  in  America 
who  scorn  the  contemplative  life— *that  no  amount  of  strenu- 
ousness  with  the  legs  will  keep  a  flame  burning  while  you 
run.  You  will  have  to  take  thought. 

And  it  is  out  of  a  thoughtful  endeavor,  not  merely  to  live 
up  to  an  ideal  of  ours,  but  to  develop  it  greatly,  that  the 
suffrage  movement  derives  its  chief  force.  I  mean  our  ideal 
of  woman  and  motherhood.  It  is  not  expected  by  the  best 
advocates  of  this  change  that  women  will  reform  politics  or 
purge  society  of  evil,  but  it  is  expected,  with  reasoned  and 
already  proved  certainty,  that  political  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience will  develop  women.  Political  responsibility,  th&y 
character  it  demands  and  the  recognition  it  receives,  will 
alter  the  nature  and  function  of  women  in  society  to  the 
benefit  of  themselves,  and  their  husbands,  and  their  children,  , 
and  their  homes.  Upon  that  ground  they  declare  that  it  is  of  " 
vital  importance  to  the  advance  of  civilized  life,  not  only  to 
give  the  ballot  to  those  women  who  want  it,  but  to  rouse 
those  women  who  do  not  yet  know  enough  to  want  it,  to  a 
better  appreciation  of  the  great  age  in  which  they  live. 

The  industrial  era — for  all  the  ill  we  say  of  it,  we  must 


52  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

say  this  great  good,  that  it  has  made  possible  and  inevitable 
the  physical,  and  social,  and  moral,  and  intellectual  libera- 
tion of  women.  The  simplification  of  home  life  through  in- 
vention and  manufacture,  the  growth  of  large  cities  with 
their  popular  education,  and  above  all  the  division  of  labor, 
have  given  her  a  free  place  in  the  active  world.  This  fact 
is  the  distinctive  feature  of  these  ages.  To  a  distant  and 
universal  historian — a  historian  who  writes  the  lives  of  the 
people — that  change  in  the  position  of  women  will  appear, 
not  only  the  most  striking,  but  the  most  excellent  achieve- 
ment of  ours.  For  we  will  never  evolve  a  heroic  race  of 
people  on  the  earth  until  we  give  them  a  twofold  inheritance 
and  tradition  of  active,  intelligent  virtue.  That  we  have 
begun  to  do.  And  no  act  at  the  present  time  can  more  urge 
and  certify  this  great  step  in  the  history  of  life  than  to  give 
it  a  political  expression  and  guarantee.  Citizenship  will 
rouse  and  educate  women,  it  will  develop  our  ideal  of  them; 
therefore,  it  is  a  dominant  necessity  of  advancing  civilization 
that  they  have  it. 

That  this  political  reform  will  have  deeper  effects  than 
its  effect  upon  politics  is  proven  by  the  outcries  that  op- 
pose it;  "You  are  bringing  dissension  into  our  homes!  You 
are  striking  a  blow  at  the  family,  which  is  the  corner-stone 
of  society!" — Hysterical  outcries,  I  think,  from  persons 
whose  families  are  already  tottering.  Certain  it  is  that 
many  of  these  corner-stones  of  society  are  tottering.  And 
why  are  they  tottering?  Because  there  dwell  in  them  trivial- 
ity and  vacuity.  It  is  these  that  prepare  the  way  of  the 
devil!  Who  can  think  that  intellectual  divergence,  disagree- 
ment upon  a  great  public  question,  could  disrupt  a  family 
worth  holding  together?  On  the  contrary,  nothing  save  a 
community  of  great  interests,  agreeing  and  disagreeing,  can 
revive  a  fading  romance.  When  we  have  made  matrimony 
synonymous  with  a  high  and  equal  comradeship,  we  shall 
have  done  the  one  thing  that  we  can  do  to  rescue  those 
families  which  are  the  tottering  corner-stones  of  society. 
And  that  we  cannot  do  until  men  and  women  are  both 
grown  up. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  53 

A  greater  service  of  the  developed  woman,  however,  will 
be  her  service  in  motherhood.  For  we  are  in  extreme  need 
of  mothers  that  have  the  wisdom  of  experience.  To  hear 
the  sacred  office  of  motherhood  advanced  as  a  reason  why 
women  should  not  become  public-spirited  and  active  and 
effective,  you  would  think  we  had  no  greater  hope  for  our 
race  and  nation  than  to  rear  in  innocence  a  generation  of 
grown-up  babies.  Keep  your  mothers  in  a  state  of  invalid 
remoteness  from  genuine  life,  and  who  is  to  arm  the  young 
with  wise  virtue?  Are  their  mothers  only  to  suckle  them, 
and  then  for  their  education  pass  them  over  to  some  one 
who  knows  life?  For  to  educate  a  child  is  to  lead  him  out 
into  the  world  of  his  experience;  it  is  not  to  propel  him 
with  ignorant  admonitions  from  the  door.  A  million  lives 
wrecked  at  the  off-go  can  bear  witness  to  the  failure  of  that 
method.  I  think  that  the  best  thing  you  could  add  to  the 
mothers  of  posterity  is  a  little  of  the  rough  sagacity  and 
humor  of  public  affairs. 


Woman's  Journal.  43:  58.  February  24,  1912. 
Suffrage  and  Soldiering.     Edwin  D.  Mead. 

Once  in  so  often  nowadays,  somebody  rises  to  say  that 
no  woman  should  be  allowed  to  vote  unless  she  is  able  and 
ready  to  become  a  soldier  or  a  policeman,  and  use  a  gun  or 
a  billy  upon  occasion  to  preserve  order  or  defend  the  state. 
We  suddenly  learn  that  only  potential  fighters  are  proper 
citizens,  and  that  the  true  state  is  a  latent  army.  "Govern- 
ment is  based  ,on  force"  is  the  fashionable  phrase  which 
seems  to  be  giving  very  considerable  glee  to  a  little  coterie 
of  opponents  of  woman  suffrage.  "Eliminate  from  govern- 
ment this  element  of  force,"  writes  one  of  them  recently  to 
a  Boston  newspaper,  "and  its  sole  excuse  for  existence  is 
removed.  All  public  functions  requiring  merely  voluntary 
concerted  action  of  citizens,  without  force,  can  be  and  are 
performed  by  private  or  non-governmental  agencies." 


54  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

This  notion  is  to  most  democratic  people  at  this  time  of 
day  a  little  surprising.  We  are  accustomed  to  think  that  the 
conception  of  the  state  as  the  voluntary  cooperation  of  the 
people  for  promoting  their  common  ends  in  an  efficient  and 
adequate  manner,  as  could  not  be  done  individually  or  by 
little,  groups,  is  the  true  conception.  This  would  appear  to 
be  not  only  an  "excuse"  for  the  existence  of  the  state,  but 
most  modern  men  would  certainly  agree  that  it  was  its  real 
end  and  definition.  That  governments  require  police  and 
military  force  for  various  purposes  is  unquestionable;  no- 
body certainly  ever  heard  of  woman  suffragists  questioning 
it.  Boston  has  a  few  thousand  policemen;  and  the  United 
States  has  perhaps  a  hundred  thousand  soldiers,  quite  enough 
for  every  need  of  its  ninety  million  people.  It  has  many 
more  butchers  and  bakers,  equally  indispensable  to  every 
people,  and  rendering  services  equally  necessary  to  all  citi- 
zens, men  and  women,  although,  in  the  proper  division  of 
labor,  the  service,  like  the  police  service,  is  the  service  of 
men.  Neither  the  one  thing  nor  the  other  has  anything  to 
do  with  the  voting  system,  or  with  qualification  for  voting. 

The  curious  thing  is  that  it  is  only  nowadays  and  for  the 
sake  of  opposing  woman  suffrage  that  this  silly  contention 
has  made  its  appearance.  Nobody  ever  heard  eligibility  for 
military  service  urged  as  a  condition  or  qualification  for 
man's  suffrage.  There  is  no  nation  on  earth  where  a  man 
is  allowed  to  vote  because  he  can  fight,  or  where  he  is  not 
allowed  to  vote  because  he  cannot  fight.  The  mere  proposi- 
tion to  subject  voting  men  to  such  a  test  or  definition  would 
produce  a  popular  outcry  about  military  despotism  from  the 
very  men  now  urging  the  test  against  women.  Yet  the  only 
possible  excuse  or  pretext  for  such  a  test  belonged  to  the 
military  past,  when  war  was  often  the  regular  and  almost 
the  chief  business  of  nations.  It  has  no  relevancy  whatever 
to  the  present,  when  war  has  long  ceased  to  be  that.  No 
contingency  is  conceivable  when  even  a  tithe  of  our  able- 
bodied  young  men  would  be  required  for  national  defence. 
If  ever  such  exigencies  should  arise  as  once  arose  at  Har- 
lem and  Leyden,  we  have  no  doubt  that  the  women  in  the 


WOMAN 'SUFFRAGE  55 

besieged  cities  of  America  would  do  their  part  as  "manfully" 
as  those  women  in  Holland. 

I  have  said  that  no  man  ever  escaped  military  service  be- 
cause he  was  not  a  voter,  or  was  allowed  to  vote  because 
he  was  a  soldier.  I  wonder  how  many  of  our  people  know 
how  many  of  our  soldiers  in  the  Civil  War  were  voters? 
Out  of  less  than  three  millions  who  enlisted,  more  than 
two  millions  were  not  twenty-one  years  old;  there  were 
about  600,000  voters.  The  millions  were  literally  "boys"  in 
blue. 

Voting  and  Fighting. 

It  is  said  that,  if  women  vote,  they  ought  to  fight  and  do 
police  duty. 

If  no  men  were  allowed  to  vote  except  those  who  are 
able  and  willing  to  do  military  and  police  duty,  women  might 
consistently  be  debarred  for  that  reason.  But  so  long  as 
the  old,  the  infirm,  the  halt,  the  lame  and  the  blind  are  freely 
admitted  to  the  ballot  box,  some  better  reason  must  be 
found  for  excluding  women  than  the  fact  that  they  do  not 
fight. 

By  a  comic  fatality  .this  objection  is  almost  always  urged 
by  some  man  who  could  not  fight  himself — some  peaceful, 
venerable  old  clergyman,  or  some  corpulent,  elderly  physi- 
cian who  would  expire  under  a  forced  march  of  five  miles. 
I  have  even  heard  it  used  by  a  man  who  had  been  stone 
blind  ever  since  he  was  three  years  old. 

It  is  said  that  we  have  to  legislate  for  classes,  not  for 
individuals;  and  that  men  as  a  class  can  fight,  while  women 
can  not.  But  there  are  large  classes  of  men  who  are  regard- 
ed as  disqualified  to  fight,  and  are  exempt  from  military 
service/  yet  they  vote.  All  men  over  45  years  of  age  are 
exempt.  So  are  all  who  are  not  physically  robust.  Of  the 
young  men  who  volunteered  for  the  Spanish  war,  more  than 
half  were  rejected  as  unfit  for  military  service.  Col.  T.  W. 
Higginson  says: 

"It  appears  by  the  record  of  United  States  military  statis- 


$6  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

tics  that  out  of  the  men  examined  for  military  duty  during 
the  Civil  War,  of  journalists  740  in  every  1,000  were  found 
unfit;  of  preachers.  975;  of  physicians,  680;  of  lawyers,  544. 
Grave  divines  are  horrified  at  the  thought  of  admitting  Wom- 
en to  vote  when  they  cannot  fight,  though  not  one  in 
twenty  of  their  own  number  is  fit  for  military  duty,  if  he 
volunteered.  Of  the  editors  who  denounce  woman  suffrage, 
only  about  one  in  four  could  himself  carry  a  musket;  while, 
of  the  lawyers  who  fill  Congress,  the  majority  could  not  be 
defenders  of  their  country,  but  could  only  be  defended." 

Of  unskilled  laborers,  on  the  other  hand,  only  a  small 
fraction  were  found  physically  disqualified.  Since  unskilled 
laborers  as  a  class  can  render  military  service,  and  profes- 
sional men  as  a  class  cannot,  does  it  follow  that  suffrage 
ought  to  be  taken  away  from  professional  men  and  limited  to 
unskilled  laborers? 

As  for  police  duty,  men  are  not  drafted,  but  out  of  those 
who  volunteer,  and  who  come  up  to  the  prescribed  conditions 
of  strength,  weight,  etc.,  a  sufficient  number  are  hired,  and 
they  are  paid  out  of  tax  money  which  is  levied  on  the 
property  of  men  and  women  alike.  Women  contribute  to 
the  policing  of  the  country  in  just  the  same  way  that  the 
majority  of  the  men  do — i.  e.,  they  help  to  pay  for  it. 

Again,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  women  who  fur- 
nish the  soldiers.  Mrs.  Z.  G.  Wallace,  of  Indiana,  from 
whom  Gen.  Lew  Wallace  drew  the  portrait  of  the  mother  in 
"Ben  Hur,"  said:  "If  women  do  not  fight,  they  give  to  the 
state  all  its  soldiers."  Lady  Henry  Somerset  says,  "She 
who  bears  soldiers  does  not  need  to  bear  arms."  Lucy 
Stone  said:  "Some  woman  risks  her  life  whenever  a  soldier 
is  born  into  the  world.  For  years  she  does  picket  duty  be- 
side his  cradle.  Later  on  she  is  his  quartermaster,  and 
gathers  his  rations.  And  when  that  boy  grows  to  be  a  man, 
shall  he  say  to  his  mother,  'If  you  want  to  vote,  you  must 
first  go  and  kill  somebody'?  It  is  a  coward's  argument!" 
Mrs.  Humphry  Ward's  sister  tells  us  that  every  year,  in 
England  alone,  3,000  women  lose  their  lives  in  childbirth. 
This  ought,  in  all  fairness,  to  be  taken  as  an  offset  for.  the 
military  service  that  women  do  not  render. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  57 

It  is  said  that  the  laws  could  not  be  enforced  if  women 
voted.  Suppose  most  men  voted  one  way  and  most  women 
the  other,  would  not  the  men  refuse  to  abide  by  the  result? 

Women  have  the  school  ballot  in  about  half  the  states 
of  the  Union.  Their  votes  occasionally  turn  the  scale  in  a 
school  election.  Do  the  defeated  candidates  and  their  friends 
refuse  to  abide  by  the  result?  In  England,  Scotland,  Ire- 
land, Canada,  Kansas,  Norway,  Sweden  and  elsewhere  women 
have  the  municipal  ballot,  and  their  votes  occasionally  turn 
the  scale  at  a  municipal  election.  Has  there  ever  been  an 
armed  uprising  against  the  result?  In  Wyoming,  Colorado. 
Utah,  Idaho,  Finland,  Norway,  Australia  and  New  Zealand 
women  vote  for  all  elective  officers,  including  the  highest. 
No  trouble  has  ever  resulted.  The  laws  are  as  well  enforced 
there  as  in  adjoining  states  and  countries,  where  women  do 
not  vote.  What  reason  is  there  to  suppose  that  our  men 
are  less  civilized  than  the  men  of  other  countries  or  of  other 
states? 

Either  the  ability  to  fight  is  a  necessary  qualification  for 
suffrage,  or  it  is  not.  If  it  is,  the  men  who  lack  it  ought  to 
be  excluded.  If  it  is  not,  the  lack  of  it  is  no  reason  for 
excluding  women.  There  is  no  escape  from  this  conclusion. 


The  best  fighters,  the  young  men  between  18  and  21,  are 
not  allowed  to  vote;  while  the  wisest  voters,  those  over  45 
years  of  age,  are  not  required  to  fight. — William  I.  Bowditch. 


In  Colorado,  men  in  general  regard  the  military  argu- 
ment against  woman  suffrage  as  too  absurd  for  serious  com- 
ment. If  all  the  men  who  cannot  or  do  not  fight  should  be 
disfranchised,  the  polls  would  be  as  lonesome  as  a  sea  bath- 
ing resort  in  December. — Gen.  Irving  Hale  of  Denver. 


Think  of  arguing  with  a  sober  face  against  a  man  who 
solemnly  asserts  that  a  woman  should  not  vote  because  she 
cannot  fight!  In  the  first  place,  she  can  fight;  in  the  second, 
men  are  largely  exempt  from  military  service;  and  in  the 


58  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

third,   there  is    not   the   remotest   relation   between    firing   a 

musket    and  casting    a    ballot. — Ex-Secretary    of    the    Navy 
Long. 


Atlantic  Monthly.  105:  559-70.  April,  1910. 
Woman's  War.     Mary  Johnston. 

There  are  perhaps  twenty-five  million  women  in  the  Unit- 
ed States — over  five  million  of  them  wage-earning.  There 
are  more  wage-earning  women  in  this  country  to-day  than 
there  were  men,  women  and  children  in  the  day  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence.  What  does  it  mean  to  say  that,  of 
the  adult  population  of  a  country,  one  moiety  furnishes  to 
the  prisons  ninety-four  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  inmates, 
and  the  other  moiety  five  and  one-half  per  cent?  What  is 
the  meaning  of  the  enormous  discrepancy  shown  by  the 
drink  statistics?  The  prostitutes?  Yes;  but  to  the  making 
of  one  harlot  there  go,  as  a  minimum,  two  rakehells.  The 
silly,  the  common,  the  frivolous,  the  selfish,  the  dishonest, 
the  unscrupulous,  the  adventuress?  All  exist  and  in 
large  numbers.  We  hope  to  reduce  them.  But  we  think 
that  even  there,  were  statistics  available,  the  feminine  hemis- 
phere might  be  found  less  heavily  shaded  than  the  mascu- 
line. We  think  that  that  is  the  opinion  of  the  world. 

It  would  seem  that  there  is  an  inference  to  be  drawn 
from  two  simple  facts.  First:  the  militarist,  the  employer  of 
cheap  and  of  child  labor,  the  bribed  politician,  the  contemner 
of  education,  the  liquor  interest,  the  brothel  interest,  every 
interest  that  sets  its  face  against  reform,  from  reform  of  the 
milk-supply  to  disarmament  of  nations,  is  opposed  to  the 
political  liberty  of  women.  Second:  the  biologist,  the  politi- 
cal economist,  the  statesman,  the  sociologist,  the  eugenist, 
the  physician,  the  educator,  the  student,  and  the  moralist, 
are  to  be  found,  in  ever-increasing  number,  advocates  of  her 
enfranchisement. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  59 

Delineator.  76:  85,   142.  August,   1910. 

Why  I  Am  for  Suffrage  for  Women.     William  E.  Borah. 

Idaho  extended  to  her  women  the  right  to  vote  in  the 
early  days  of  her  statehood.  We  do  not  become  at  all  ex- 
cited over  the  effect  of  woman  suffrage  in  our  state.  But 
we  do  declare  it  to  be  our  deliberate  judgment  that  her 
presence  in  politics  armed  with  the  power  to  enforce  her 
demand,  has  been  substantially  and  distinctively  for  the  bene- 
fit of  politics  and  of  society.  It  has  aided  materially  in  the 
securing  of  better  laws  along  particular  lines;  especially  has 
it  tended  to  cleaner  politics  in  particular  and  essential  mat- 
ters. Our  women  have  not  always  been  so  active  in  politics 
as  they  should  be,  but  it  has  been  observed  that  when  a 
moral  question  is  up  for  consideration,  the  majority  vote  of 
the  women  has  been  a  power  upon  the  right  side. 

It  is  sometimes  argued  that  women  will  vote  largely  with 
their  brothers  or  husbands,  but  I  have  observed  that  there 
comes  a  time  upon  certain  questions  when  the  brothers  and 
husbands  vote  with  the  women.  We  should  not  be  misled 
by  the  idea  that  the  American  woman  will  put  aside  with 
entire  complacency  her  views  and  her  convictions  upon  a 
large  class  of  questions  which  are  coming  more  and  more  to 
be  dealt  with  in  politics.  And  upon  these  questions  her  in- 
tuitions are  far  more  valuable  than  the  sometimes  sordid 
judgment  of  men. 

We  have  in  economics  what  some  are  pleased  to  call 
potential  competition.  Translating  this  into  a  common  and 
homely  phrase  or  sentence,  it  is  the  fear  of  a  scoundrel  that 
if  he  robs  the  public  too  severely  or  too  outrageously  some 
one  will  administer  punishment  by  getting  in  and  establish- 
ing an  honest  business  with  fair  prices,  and  likely  put  the 
unjust  one  out  of  business.  The  trusts,  therefore,  they  say, 
hesitate  to  put  their  prices  beyond  a  certain  mark  for  fear 
of  this  potential  competition. 

This  element  of  strength  is  not  to  be  overlooked  in  poli- 
tics in  connection  with  this  question  which  we  are  now  dis- 


6o  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

cussing.  Women  may  not  always  be  at  the  caucuses  or 
they  may  not  always  take  an  active  part  in  as  many  ways  as 
men.  Let  us  concede  that  for  the  sake  of  argument.  There 
may  be  very  few  of  them  at  the  state  convention,  but — I  am 
speaking  from  observation  extending  over  a  number  of  years 
and  many  political  gatherings — the  women  are  nevertheless 
always  a  powerful  factor  in  every  political  gathering  where 
platforms  are  written,  issues  made  and  candidates  nominated. 

Those  who  expect  to  win  at  the  polls  will  never  take  the 
chance  on  the  woman  vote  remaining  away  upon  that  occa- 
sion. They  will  not  do  something  which  they  feel  would 
incur  the  opposition  of  the  women  on  the  theory  that  they 
will  not  go  to  the  polls  anyway.  They  are  practically  as 
potential,  indeed  in  some  instances  more  so,  than  if  they 
were  in  charge  of  the  convention.  I  have  seen  "slates" 
broken  out  of  absolute  regard  for  or  fear  of  the  woman  vote 
when  there  were  not  two  women  delegates  in  the  convention 
among  some  two  hundred. 

Some  politicians  act  upon  such  occasions  out  of  a  high 
regard  for  the  opinion  of  those  whose  vote  they  are  consid- 
ering; others  out  of  fear.  But,  whatever  the  cause  or  the 
reason,  every  man  who  has  been  in  practical  politics  in  a 
state  where  women  vote  knows  that  what  I  say  is  true.  The 
woman  vote,  as  a  political  potentiality,  is  a  powerful  factor 
at  all  times  in  shaping  the  politics  of  a  state  campaign  and 
in  determining  in  some  measure,  although  not  to  the  same 
extent,  the  qualities  of  the  candidates.  And  this  factor  is 
always  for  the  good,  for  whether  women  may  make  mistakes 
or  not  in  the  matter  of  actual  voting,  men  universally  ac- 
credit to  them  the  aptitude  for  getting  upon  the  right  side 
of  these  great  moral  and  quasi-moral  questions  which  are 
entering  more  and  more  into  state  campaigns. 

I  read  some  time  ago  a  leaflet  sent  out  by  some  good 
and  cultured  women  presenting  a  protest  against  woman 
suffrage.  One  of  the  arguments  advanced  was  that  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  women  vote  in  those  states  where 
they  have  been  given  the  right  to  vote.  This,  as  I  have  ob- 
served the  actual  practise,  is  an  error.  I  think  a  remarkably 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  61 

large  proportion  of  the  women  vote  when  you  take  into 
consideration,  first,  that  it  is  a  new  privilege,  against  the 
exercise  of  which  stand  the  customs  and  tendencies  and 
teachings  from  St.  Paul  to  the  present  day;  second,  that  it  is 
a  privilege  still  rejected  and  the  use  of  which  is  still  criticised 
by  many  good  women  in  the  land,  which  both  discourages 
and  discredits  its  use.  If  those  women  who  speak  disparag- 
ingly of  the  privilege  or  of  those  who  choose  to  exercise  it 
should  be  found  defending  the  right  and  encouraging  the  use 
of  it  by  those  who  have  a  chance  to  use  it,  there  would  be 
little  complaint  in  a  few  years  of  the  failure  to  exercise  it. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  thousands  of  men  among 
the  most  prosperous  citizens  of  the  community  who,  election 
after  election,  fail  to  vote?  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  find  a 
hundred  thousand  men  absent  from  the  polls  in  a  single 
state  even  at  a  presidential  election.  Shall  we  take  from  the 
more  active,  the  more  patriotic,  the  right  of  franchise  be- 
cause the  surfeited  or  business-ridden  or  politically  discon- 
tented remain  away?  I  hold%  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every  citi- 
zen to  take  an  active  interest  in  politics,  to  study  measures 
and  to  vote.  Instead  of  its  being  an  evidence  of  purity  and 
patriotism  to  remain  out  of  politics,  it  is  generally  an  evi- 
dence of  utter  selfishness  or  political  disappointment  or  an 
ostentatious  display  of  modern  Phariseeism. 

The  good  women  surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  and 
culture  of  prosperous  and  happy  homes  may  feel  a  reluctance 
to  enter  the  arena  of  politics  even  to  the  extent  of  exercis- 
ing the  right  of  franchise.  But  the  thousands  of  women  who 
stand  alone  and  must  depend  upon  their  own  efforts  in  the 
struggle  for  existence;  who  feel  the  injustice  of  laws  or  the 
cruelty  of  politics;  the  thousands  of  women  who  must  join 
with  their  husbands  in  seeking  homes  and  educating  families, 
these  ought  not  to  be  deprived  of  a  voice  in  selecting  those 
who  are  to  determine  politics  and  make  laws. 

The  next  startling  argument  which  those  good  women 
advance  is  that  woman  suffrage  would  confuse  the  functions 
of  men  and  women  and  would  lay  heavy  burdens  of  respon- 
sibility upon  women  which  men  now  chivalrously  await  an 


62  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

opportunity  to  assume.  It  is  a  little  difficult  here  to  deter- 
mine whether  this  argument  arises  out  of  sympathy  for  the 
women  or  out  of  a  desire  to  protect  the  chivalry  of  men  in 
these  modern  days.  This  is  the  statement,  though  in  a  dif- 
ferent and  more  cultured  way,  which  was  used  in  the  de- 
bates at  the  country  school.  The  young  orator  opposing 
woman  suffrage,  with  a  fine  sense  of  the  climax  so  essen- 
tial in  all  oratory,  reserved  until  the  last  the  clinching,  con- 
sternation-spreading argument  that  if  women  vote  they  must 
work  on  the  roads  and  go  to  war. 

But  truly,  "Summer  is  not  so  bad  as  painted."  We  find 
no  such  evil  effects  flowing  from  the  exercise  of  the  right  of 
franchise.  The  functions  are  not  confused — far  less  con- 
fused, indeed,  than  already  in  the  business  world.  The 
mother  is  no  less  a  mother,  the  home  no  less  a  home,  the 
husband  no  less  a  husband,  and  even  often  more  a  husband. 
It  is  absurd,  perfectly  absurd,  to  suppose  that  woman  will 
change  her  sphere  in  life  by  reason  of  an  increased  oppor- 
tunity to  enlarge  and  ennoble  that  peculiar  sphere  in  which 
she  is  by  nature  placed  and  from  which  all  the  laws  and 
politics  of  the  world  will  never  take  her.  This  is  the  same 
doctrine  that  woman  has  had  to  meet  in  every  single  initia- 
tive of  her  fight  for  a  higher  and  broader  sphere  of  action. 
I  know, — everybody  who  thinks  knows — that  the  woman  who 
deals  in  care  and  sincerity  with  those  questions  which  lighten 
the  burdens  and  adjust  the  equity  of  humanity  is  a  noble, 
stronger,  more  womanly  woman  than  the  woman  who  sits 
in  enforced  idleness,  sips  her  tea  and  discusses  the  decline 
and  retirement  of  some  departed  social  queen. 

The  suggestion,  that,  should  the  ballot  be  given  to  wom- 
en, the  less  desirable  class  of  women  would  avail  themselves 
of  this  right  and  the  desirable  remain  aloof,  is  not  sustained 
in  practice  or  experience.  The  argument  having  been  called 
to  the  attention  of  the  public  some  time  ago,  a  public  expres- 
sion was  secured  from  a  number  of  women  of  my  state.  I 
quote  from  their  published  utterances.  An  elderly  lady,  long 
most  active  in  matters  connected  with  the  suffrage  cause 
and  one  of  our  oldest  and  most  highly  respected  families, 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  63 

said:  "The  majority  of  the  women  of  the  state  exercise  the 
right  of  suffrage  and  it  is  only  on  rare  occasions  that  I  have 
heard  of  the  undesirable  class  voting  at  all/* 

A  young  lady  who  has  taken  a  most  efficient  and  active 
part  in  state  politics  for  several  years,  who  had  to  do  with 
the  public  service,  who  is  familiar  with  all  parts  of  the  state 
and  thoroughly  qualified  to  give  an  opinion,  said:  "In  my 
experience  of  seven  years  in  politics  in  Idaho,  which  has 
taken  me  over  the  entire  state.  I  have  found  the  thinking 
women  alive  to  every  issue."  And  she  added:  "I  believe 
there  is  a  class  of  men  who  are  just  as  unfit  for  the  ballot 
as  are  Hottentots." 

The  mother  of  a  fine  family,  who  has  been  interested  in 
educational  work,  said:  "I  do  not  think  it  is  true  that  the 
desirable  women  do  not  vote  and  the  undesirable  do;  em- 
phatically no."  Another,  a  former  regent  of  our  state  uni- 
versity, universally  respected  and  loved,  with  as  beautiful  a 
home  as  may  be  found  in  the  West,  said:  "I  am  sure  that 
the  majority  of  the  intelligent  women  in  this  state  vote.  I 
think  the  undesirable  class  vote  at  times,  but  never  any  more 
as  a  unit  than  any  other  class  of  women."  I  think  these 
expressions  convey  the  opinion  of  practically  all  who  have 
observed  the  effect  of  woman  suffrage  in  Idaho. 

The  most  startling  doctrine,  however,  comes  to  me  in  a 
bulletin  published  in  Chicago.  It  asserts  that  woman  suf- 
frage means  socialism,  and  it  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  world- 
wide movement  for  the  overthrow  of  the  present  order  of 
civilized  society,  and  the  establishment  in  its  place  of  a 
revolutionary  scheme  based  upon  principles  that  have  been 
tried  and  found  wanting  and  which  are  unalterably  opposed 
to  those  that  form  the  foundation  of  the  free  government 
under  which  we  live.  How  it  could  be  effected,  what  part 
woman  suffrage  would  have  in  the  movement,  is  not  made 
clear.  This  is  all  left  to  the  imagination,  already  well 
aroused  and  somewhat  bewildered  by  the  promised  catas- 
trophe. 

We  can  not  help  recurring  to  a  former  argument  against 
woman  suffrage  so  often  advanced  and  which  indeed  is  ad- 


64  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

vanced  in  this  same  bulletin,  to-wit:  that  she  does  not  want 
suffrage  and  would  not  exercise  the  right  if  she  had  it. 
Unless  woman  is  going  in  earnestly  and  zealously  to  use 
this  right,  to  take  hold  of  affairs  and  exert  continuously  and 
persistently  this  power,  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  she 
would  have  any  considerable  part  in  this  revolutionary  wreck 
of  things  so  forcefully  described.  I  do  not  see  how  this 
movement  is  any  kin  to  socialism  or  to  revolution,  unless  it 
is  that  peaceful  revolution  by  which  a  large  portion  of  the 
intelligence  and  patriotism  of  the  country  moves  up  to  a 
place  of  influence  in  accordance  with  every  principle  of 
equity  and  justice.  With  the  corrupt  hungry,  dissolute  mob 
of  political  satellites  voting  in  our  great  cities,  bought  and 
delivered  like  cattle,  could  we  not  safely  place  against  this 
the  woman  in  her  home  devoted  to  its  preservation  against 
every  evil  that  threatens  its  existence?" 

If  these  women  could  see  the  ease,  the  imperceptible 
methods  by  which  a  state  confers  woman  suffrage  and  the 
people  take  up  the  duties  under  the  new  regime,  the  unrevo- 
lutionary  way  in  which  all  things  continue  to  exist,  they 
would  at  least  discard  such  prophecies  as  those  above.  They 
can  go  into  those  states  where  women  vote  and  have  been 
voting  for  years,  and  while  they  will  find  good  and  noble 
women  who  are  not  enthusiastic  about  the  privilege  or 
zealous  at  all  times  in  its  use,  they  will  find,  on  the  other 
hand,  thousands  of  refined,  homeloving,  family-rearing  wom- 
en who  do  exercise  the  right  to  the  advantage  of  all  and  in 
no  wise  to  the  detriment  of  themselves. 


Harper's  Weekly.  55:  6.  December  2,  1911. 

Objections  to  Woman  Suffrage. 

Another  familiar  method  of  coping  with  the  subject 
is  to  ask  why  women  should  demean  themselves  to 
demand  political  rights  when  it  is  perfectly  simple  to  get 
anything  they  want  for  the  mere  asking.  Accepting  that 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  65 

statement — which  is,  of  course,  not  in  the  least  borne  out  by 
the  facts — one  might  submit  that  one  serious  objection  to 
the  asking  method  is  that  it  consumes  too  much  valuable 
time  and  takes  a  women  out  of  her  home  too  much.  It  takes 
a  great  deal  of  time  to  serve  on  committees  and  plead  one's 
cause  before  legislatures.  Secondly,  it  is  not  dignified  to 
ask  of  strange  men  as  a  favor  that  which  is  felt  to  be  the 
inherent  right  of  any  sane  adult.  To  be  forced  to  get  by 
cajolery  or  personal  influence  what  is  in  the  natural  order 
.right  is  harmful  to  character.  Moreover,  the  facts  do  not 
bear  one  out  that  it  is  as  easy  to  get  what  one  needs  by  ask- 
ing as  by  voting.  The  women  of  Australia  had  sent  com- 
mittees to  legislature  for  years  to  try  to  get  the  wages  of 
the  women  teachers  in  the  public  schools  made  the  same  as 
the  men's  in  the  same  grades,  but  it  was  all  without  avail. 
The  year  after  the  suffrage  was  granted  to  women  this  bill 
was  passed.  To  be  true,  the  women  of  New  York  have  ac- 
complished the  same  end  without  the  vote,  but  how  many 
times  have  they  appeared  before  the  legislature  without  re- 
sults first?  Indeed,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  natural  way  is  both  quicker  and  more  effective. 

One  great  fear  of  the  adult-suffrage  opponents  is  that 
the  vote  unsexes  women.  Surely  those  who  indulge  in  so 
ungrounded  a  fear  may  rest  easy.  Sex  is  older  than  our 
civilization,  and  the  sex  of  woman  is  as  solidly  grounded  as 
that  of  man.  There  is  no  more  reason  to  fear  that  a  change 
of  method  will  unsex  women  than  to  fear  that  a  man  who 
sews  will  become  a  woman.  One  might  as  well  fear  that  if 
a  woman  votes  she  will  develop  a  bass  voice. 

Another  superstition  that  ought  to  be  faced  is  the  one 
which  takes  it  for  granted  that  women  in  the  mass  are  sup- 
ported by  men  and  have  no  need  of  representation  other  than 
that  offered  by  their  natural  protectors.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
when  Lloyd-George  recently  raised  objection  to  the  concilia- 
tion bill  granting  suffrage  to  the  taxpaying  women  of  Eng- 
land, on  the  grounds  that  it  would  admit  only  a  few  well-to- 
do  ladies,  it  was  found  on  taking  the  census  that  eighty-five 
per  cent  of  the  women  of  England  were  taxed  either  as 


66  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

wage-earners  or  as  living  on  inherited  property  of  their  own. 
It  is  a  matter  of  statistics  that  over  seven  million  American 
women  are  filling  gainful  positions,  supporting  themselves 
and  others.  The  business  and  professional  woman,  writes 
the  director  of  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  has  de- 
veloped as  naturally  as  the  great  merchant  class  developed  in 
the  Middle  Ages  or  the  world-wide  industrial  classes  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

If  the  question  is,  Are  women  ready  for  the  suffrage? 
then  no  thoughtful  person  could  say  anything  but  "No." 
All  women  are  not  capable  of  voting  intelligently,  nor  all 
men.  It  may  be  a  long  time  before  the  mass  of  women  live 
down  their  long  ostracism  from  national  interests.  But 
there  is  one  hopeful  fact  to  contemplate  in  the  matter — 
women  are  not  only  by  tradition  and  long  training  conser- 
vative, they  are  biologically  conservative.  "If  the  greater 
variability  of  men,"  writes  Dr.  Charles  Otto  Glaser,  of  the 
University  of  Michigan,  "is  the  gift  that  fits  them  to  explore 
new  fields,  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  less  erratic 
organization,  both  physical  and  mental,  of  women  fits  them 
for  administration,  conservation,  tradition  and  culture."  "So- 
ciety to-day  is  losing  the  service  of  a  specialist  in  these 
matters,"  continues  the  same  writer;  "one,  too,  who  is  not 
only  endowed  by  nature,  but  strengthened  by  education." 
"When  once  this  becomes  clear,  shall  we  continue  to  doubt 
her  ability  to  breast  the  waves  of  jingoism  that  periodically 
unsettle  our  markets  and  industries,  distort  the  price  of  living, 
and  even  carry  us  into  trivial  yet  costly  war?" 

Now  do  we  for  an  instant  believe  that  men  will  be  the 
losers  when  women  have  wider  interests  and  full  lives.  One 
of  the  sad  spectacles  of  modern  life  is  the  broad  gulf  be- 
tween the  interests  and  pleasures  of  the  average  woman  and 
the  average  man.  Men  and  women  can  work  together,  but 
they  take  shockingly  little  pleasure  in  one  another's  society. 
Husbands  and  wives,  once  the  accounts  and  the  children  are 
settled,  have  often  not  a  single  subject  of  mutual  interest 
for  refuge.  Instead  of  the  emancipation  of  women  result- 
ing in  the  estrangement  of  the  sexes,  as  the  genial  editorial 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  67 

writer  quoted  above  thinks,  the  community  of  interests  will 
brighten  many  a  home  and  supply  men  and  women  with 
many  a  new  bond  of  communion. 


Man  Needs  Woman's  Ballot. 

Clifford   Howard. 

Not  alone  from  our  knowledge  of  women,  not  merely  as 
a  matter  of  theory,  but  from  the  records  of  history  as  re- 
vealed in  the  states  and  commonwealths  in  which  woman 
suffrage  now  exists  we  know  that  the  woman  will  be  guided 
always  in  the  selection  of  a  public  official  by  the  character 
and  the  worth  of  the  man.  Is  he  worthy?  Is  he  honest? 
Can  he  be  depended  upon  to  enforce  the  laws  in  behalf  of 
decency  and  purity  and  righteousness?  Those  are  the  deter- 
mining considerations  in  the  eyes  of  a  woman.  She  may 
have  her  political  affiliations,  she  may  be  a  Democrat  or  a 
Republican  or  a  Socialist,  but  in  any  case  involving  a  moral 
issue,  in  any  case  involving  the  welfare  of  the  child  or  the 
home — the  foundation  corners  of  the  nation — she  is  above 
all  else  the  Woman,  the  Mother.  If,  therefore,  for  no  other 
reason  than  this,  we  need  the  woman's  ballot,  the  woman's 
help.  We  need  the  feminine  in  our  electorate.  Every  man 
of  us  who  stands  for  honesty  and  decency  and  cleanliness 
needs  the  woman  to  help  in  the  selection  of  good  and 
worthy  men.  We  need  her  judgment,  her  intuitions,  her 
instinct.  We  cannot  hope  to  attain  our  ideals  without  her. 

Always  the  man  of  America  has  needed  the  help  of  the 
woman,  and  he  has  always  had  it  in  every  national  crisis. 
In  the  colonial  days,  when  the  fate  of  the  future  nation 
rested  upon  the  grit  and  endurance  and  the  intelligence  of 
our  pioneer  ancestors,  it  was  the  women  who  upheld  the 
faith  and  the  courage  of  the  men.  They  stood  by  their  sides, 
and  shared  equally  with  them  the  dangers  and  the  trials  and 
the  hardships  of  those  pregnant  days;  and  in  order  that  the 
man  might  have  the  full  help  and  co-operation  of  the  woman, 


68  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

he  placed  the  musket  in  her  hand,  for  he  realized  thatl  he 
must  give  her  every  means  at  his  command,  that  she  might 
assist  him  in  defending  and  preserving  the  home.  And 
when  he  gave  her  the  musket  it  was  not  with  any  fear  that 
she  would  not  know  how  to  use  it.  He  knew  that  she 
would  handle  it  efficiently  and  heroically,  and  we  know  how 
fully  she  justified  his  faith  in  her. 

Now,  again,  are  we  come  upon  pioneer  days.  We  are 
standing  to-day  upon  the  frontier  of  a  new  social  world,  a 
new  democracy,  faced  with  new  and  menacing  problems, 
with  tasks  and  duties  untried  and  unprecedented,  and  upon 
the  proper  performance  of  which  depends  the  fate  of  our 
Republic.  We  are  not  threatened  with  external  enemies — the 
savage  Indian  and  the  wild  beast  of  the  forest — but  with 
enemies  just  as  dangerous  and  far  more  to  be  dreaded — the 
internal  foes  of  the  social  body,  vice,  corruption,  disease, 
poverty.  And  would  we  succeed  in  any  warfare  against 
these  evils  we  must  have  the  full  help  and  co-operation  of 
the  woman,  even  as  our  forefathers  had  the  help  of  the 
woman  in  their  troublous  days.  And  even  as  they  gave  her 
the  musket,  the  final  and  most  efficient  weapon  at  their 
command,  so  today  must  we  give  her  the  best  within  our 
gift,  in  order  that  she  may  be  fully  equipped  to  stand  with 
us  in  our  mutual  struggle  in  behalf  of  the  nation  and  the 
home.  If,  therefore,  it  be  our  wish  that  we  shall  endure 
and  prosper  we  must,  of  necessity,  give  her  the  ballot. 


Summing  Up  the  Case  for  Woman  Suffrage. 
Justice  David  J.  Brewer,  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 

The  real  question  is  a  practical  one.  How  does  woman's 
suffrage  work  when  tried?  In  this  nation,  six  States — Colo- 
rado, Utah,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Washington  and  California — 
have  granted  full  suffrage,  and  in  at  least  the  first  four  of 
them  it  has  been  in  existence  long  enough  for  substantial 
results. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  69 

One  thing  is  true  of  all;  there  has  been  no  organized  ef- 
fort to  repeal  the  grant.  Whatever  may  be  isolated  opinions, 
the  general  mass  of  the  voters  are  satisfied.  Indeed,  few 
have  expressed  antagonistic  views.  If  the  citizens  of  these 
states  find  nothing  objectionable  in  woman's  suffrage,  a  na- 
tural conclusion  is  that  no  injury  has  resulted.  Especially  is 
this  true  when  the  declarations  of  its  friends  in  its  favor  are 
many  and  strong. 

Doubtless  some  opposition  may  come  from  personal  am- 
bition defeated  by  the  woman  voters.  Thus  Judge  Lindsey, 
of  the  Juvenile  Court  in  Denver,  who  has  attracted  much 
attention  by  his  good  work  in  that  court,  after  having  been 
denied  a  renomination  by  each  of  the  great  political  parties, 
came  out  as  an  independent  candidate,  and  was  elected  main- 
ly, it  is  said,  by  the  votes  of  women  who  appreciated  his 
labors  and  determined  that  the  young  culprits  of  that  city 
should  not  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  his  judgment  and 
experience.  It  would  be  strange  if  the  defeated  candidates 
did  not  feel  and  express  themselves  against  woman's  suf- 
frage. But  their  complaint  is  really  testimony  to  its  value. 
The  change  in  the  position  of  woman  in  the  past  fifty 
years  must  be  noticed.  Then  the  only  vocations  open  to  her 
were  teaching  and  sewing.  But  within  the  last  half  century 
she  has  entered  into  active  outdoor  life  and  is  no  longer  a 
necessary  home-body.  Not  that  home  has  lost  its  charms, 
or  that  it  will  ever  cease  to  be  the  place  which  she  most 
loves  and  where  she  reigns  supreme,  but  choice  or  necessity 
has  driven  her  into  varied  pursuits,  many  of  them  calling  for 
familiarity  with  public  affairs  and  executive  ability. 

You  see  them  not  only  doing  clerical  work  in  offices, 
but  acting  as  shopgirls  in  stores,  or  laborers  in  a  factory. 
Many  who  have  charge  of  large  administrations,  are  presi- 
dents of  colleges,  heads  of  corporations,  and  indeed  engaging 
in  almost  every  avocation  of  their  brothers,  and  doing  so 
with  success.  There  is  a  host  of  female  doctors.  Women 
have  invaded  the  pulpit  and  are  pastors  of  churches.  They 
are  found  in  the  court  room,  and  not  a  few  are  efficient  and 
successful  practitioners.  Indeed,  it  may  truly  be  affirmed 
that  they  have  fully  entered  into  the  active  life  of  the  world. 


70  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Women  and  Public  Housekeeping. 
Jane  Addams. 

A  city  is  in  many  respects  a  great  business  corporation, 
but  in  other  respects  it  is  enlarged  housekeeping.  If  Ameri- 
can cities  have  failed  in  the  first,  partly  because  officeholders 
have  carried  with  them  the  predatory  instinct  learned  in 
competitive  business,  and  cannot  help  "working  a  good 
thing"  when  they  have  an  opportunity,  may  we  not  say  that 
city  housekeeping  has  failed  partly  because  women,  the  tra- 
ditional housekeepers,  have  not  been  consulted  as  to  its  multi- 
form activities?  The  men  of  the  city  have  been  carelessly 
indifferent  to  much  of  its  civic  housekeeping,  as  they  have 
always  been  indifferent  to  the  details  of  the  household. 
They  have  totally  disregarded  a  candidate's  capacity  to  keep 
the  streets  clean,  preferring  to  consider  him  in  relation  to  the 
national  tariff  or  to  the  necessity  for  increasing  the  national 
navy,  in  a  pure  spirit  of  reversion  to  the  traditional  type  of 
government,  which  had  to  do  only  with  enemies  and  out- 
siders. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  what  military  prowess  has  to  do  with 
the  multiform  duties  which,  in  a  modern  city,  include  the 
care  of  parks  and  libraries,  superintendence  of  markets,  sew- 
ers and  bridges,  the  inspection  of  provisions  and  boilers, 
and  the  proper  disposal  of  garbage.  It  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  building  department,  which  the  city  maintains  that 
it  may  see  to  it  that  the  basements  are  dry,  that  the  bed- 
rooms are  large  enough  to  afford  the  required  cubic  feet  of 
air,  that  the  plumbing  is  sanitary,  that  the  gas  pipes  do  not 
leak,  that  the  tenement  house  court  is  large  enough  to 
afford  light  and  ventilation,  that  the  stairways  are  fireproof. 
The. ability  to  carry  arms  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  health 
department  maintained  by  the  city,  which  provides  that  chil- 
dren are  vaccinated,  that  contagious  diseases  are  isolated  and 
placarded,  that  the  spread  of  tuberculosis  is  curbed,  that  the 
water  is  free  from  typhoid  infection.  Certainly  the  military 
conception  of  society  is  remote  from  the  functions  of  the 


WOMAN   SUFFRAGE  71 

school  boards,  whose  concern  it  is  that  children  are  edu- 
cated, that  they  are  supplied  with  kindergartens,  and  are 
given  a  decent  place  in  which  to  play.  The  very  multifar- 
iousness  and  complexity  of  a  city  government  demand  the 
help  of  minds  accustomed  to  detail  and  variety  of  work,  to  a 
sense  of  obligation  for  the  health  and  welfare  of  young 
children,  and  to  a  responsibility  for  the  cleanliness  and  com- 
fort of  other  people. 

Because  all  these  things  have  traditionally  been  in  the 
hands  of  women,  if  they  take  no  part  in  them  now  they  are 
not  only  missing  the  education  which  the  natural  participa- 
tion in  civic  life  would  bring  to  them,  but  they  are  losing 
what  they  have  always  had.  From  the  beginning  of  tribal 
life,  they  have  been  held  responsible  for  the  health  of  the 
community,  a  function  which  is  now  represented  by  the 
health  department.  From  the  days  of  the  cave  dwellers,  so 
far  as  the  home  was  clean  and  wholesome,  it  was  due  to 
their  efforts,  which  are  now  represented  by  the  Bureau  of 
tenement  house  inspection.  From  the  period  of  the  primi- 
tive village,  the  only  public  sweeping  which  was  performed 
was  what  they  undertook  in  their  divers  dooryards,  that 
which  is  now  represented  by  the  Bureau  of  street  cleaning. 
Most  of  the  departments  in  a  modern  city  can  be  traced  to 
woman's  traditional  activity;  but,  in  spite  of  this,  so  soon  as 
these  old  affairs  were  turned  over  to  the  city  they  slipped 
from  woman's  hands,  apparently  because  they  then  became 
matters  for  collective  action  and  implied  the  use  of  the 
franchise — because  the  franchise  had  in  the  first  instance 
been  given  to  the  man  who  could  fight,  because  in  the  begin- 
ning he  alone  could  vote  who  could  carry  a  weapon,  it  was 
considered  an  improper  thing  for  a  woman  to  possess  it. 

Is  it  quite  public  spirited  for  woman  to  say,  "We  will 
take  care  of  these  affairs  so  long  as  they  stay  in  our  own 
houses,  but  if  they  go  outside  and  concern  so  many  people 
that  they  cannot  be  carried  on  without  the  mechanism  of  the 
vote,  we  will  drop  them;  it  is  true  that  these  activities  which 
women  have  always  had  are  not  at  present  being  carried  on 
very  well  by  the  men  in  most  of  the  great  American  cities. 


72  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

but,  because  we  do  not  consider  it  'lady-like'  to  vote,  we  will 
let  them  alone?" 


Women  In  The  House. 

Susan  W.  FitzGerald. 

We  are  forever  being  told  that  the  place  of  woman  is  in 
the  home.  Well,  so  be  it.  But  what  do  we  expect  of  her 
in  the  home?  Merely  to  stay  in  the  home  is  not  enough. 
She  is  a  failure  unless  she  does  certain  things  for  the  home. 
She  must  make  the  home  minister,  as  far  as  her  means  al- 
low, to  the  health  and  welfare,  moral  as  well  as  physical,  of 
her  family,  and  especially  of  her  children.  She,  more  than 
anyone  else,  is  held  responsible  for  what  they  become. 

She  is  responsible  for  the  cleanliness  of  her  house. 

She  is  responsible  for  the  wholesomeness  of  the  food. 

She  is  responsible  for  the  children's  health. 

She,  above  all,  is  responsible  for  their  morals,  for  their 
sense  of  truth,  of  honesty  and  of  decency,  for  what  they 
turn  out  to  be. 

How  Far  Can  the  Mother  Control  These   Things? 

She  can  clean  her  own  rooms,  but  if  the  neighbors  are 
allowed  to  live  in  filth,  she  cannot  keep  her  rooms  from 
being  filled  with  bad  airs  and  smells,  or  from  being  infested 
by  vermin. 

She  can  cook  her  food  well,  but  if  dealers  are  permitted 
to  sell  poor  food,  unclean  milk  or  stale  eggs,  she  cannot 
makevthe  food  wholesome  for  her  children. 

She  can  care  for  her  own  plumbing  and  her  refuse,  but 
if  the  plumbing  in  the  rest  of  the  house  is  unsanitary,  if 
garbage  accumulates  and  the  halls  and  stairs  are  left  dirty, 
she  cannot  protect  her  children  from  the  sickness  and  infec- 
tion that  these  conditions  bring. 

She  can  take  every  care  to  avoid  fire,  but  if  the  house 
has  been  badly  built,  if  the  fire-escapes  are  insufficient  or 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  73 

not  fire-proof,  she  cannot  guard  her  children  from  the  hor- 
rors of  being  maimed  or  killed  by  fire. 

She  can  open  her  windows  to  give  her  children  the  air 
that  we  are  told  is  so  necessary,  but  if  the  air  is  laden  with 
infection,  with  tuberculosis  and  other  contagious  diseases, 
she  cannot  protect  her  children  from  this  danger. 

She  can  send  her  children  out  for  air  and  exercise,  but  if 
the  conditions  that  surround  them  on  the  streets  are  im- 
moral and  degrading,  she  cannot  protect  them  from  these 
dangers. 

Alone,  she  cannot  make  these  things  right.  Who  or  what 
can? 

The  city  can  do  it,  the  city  government  that  is  elected  by 
the  people,  to  take  care  of  the  interests  of  the  people. 

And  who  decides  what  the  city  government  shall  do? 

First,  the  officials  of  that  government;  and, 

Second,  those  who  elect  them. 

Do  the  women  elect  them?  No,  the  men  do.  So  it  is 
the  men  and  not  the  women  that  are  really  responsible  for 
the 

Unclean  houses, 

Unwholesome  food, 

Bad  plumbing, 

Danger  of  fire, 

Risk  of  tuberculosis  and  other  diseases. 

Immoral  influences  of  the  street. 

In  fact,  men  are  responsible  for  the  conditions  under 
which  the  children  live,  but  we  hold  women  responsible  for 
the  results  of  those  conditions.  If  we  hold  women  respon- 
sible for  the  results,  must  we  not.  in  simple  justice,  let  them 
have  something  to  say  as  to  what  these  conditions  shall  be? 
There  is  one  simple  way  of  doing  this.  Give  them  the  same 
means  that  men  have,  let  them  vote. 

Women  are  by  nature  and  training,  housekeepers.  Let 
them  have  a  hand  in  the  city's  housekeeping,  even  if  they 
introduce  an  occasional  house-cleaning. 


74  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Do  Teachers  Need  the  Ballot? 

Alice  S.  Blackwell. 

It  is  the  general  testimony  of  educators,  from  President 
Eliot  of  Harvard  down,  that  the  amount  of  money  appro- 
priated for  schools  is  not  nearly  as  large  as  it  ought  to  be. 
Both  pupils  and  teachers  suffer  from  overcrowding,  and 
from  the  necessity  of  giving  each  teacher  too  many  pupils 
for  the  best  educational  results. 

What  is  the  reason  for  this  lack  of  money  for  the  schools? 
One  reason  is  that  the  mothers  and  the  teachers  have  no 
votes.  Money  can  be  found  for  purposes  in  which  voters  are 
interested.  Hon.  Frederic  C.  Howe  says:  "We  spend  mil- 
lions for  business  purposes,  for  the  promotion  of  industry. 
And  yet,  when  any  organization  goes  to  the  city  hall  for 
thousands  for  school  purposes,  it  is  met  with  the  response 
that  the  city  is  too  poor.  We  can  spend  millions  for  docks, 
but  not  thousands  for  playgrounds."  In  New  York,  it  is 
estimated  that  there  are  80.000  fewer  seats  in  the  public 
schools  than  there  are  children  of  school  age.  Many  chil- 
dren cannot  go  to  school  at  all,  and  thousands  of  others 
have  to  be  put  on  "half  time."  This  is  an  injustice  both  to 
the  children  and  to  the  teacher.  The  children  get  only  half 
the  time  in  school  to  which  they  are  entitled,  and  the  teach- 
er has  her  strength  worn  out  by  having  to  teach  two  relays 
of  children  daily. 

In  Philadelphia,  the  Superintendent  of  schools  lately 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  were  20,000  fewer  seats 
in  the  schools  than  there  were  children  applying  for  ad- 
mission; thousands  could  not  get  in,  and  for  those  who  did 
get  in,  the  accommodations  were  so  poor  that  children  were 
sitting  on  broken  benches,  on  boards  stretched  across  the 
aisles,  on  window  sills  and  even  on  the  floor.  All  this  was 
for  lack  of  money.  Yet  just  at  this  time  the  city  fathers 
voted  $50,000  of  public  money  to  entertain  the  "Elks,"  and 
$10.000  more  to  entertain  the  Order  of  patriotic  sons  of 
America.  This  $60,000  came  largely  from  women's  taxes, 
but  the  women  had  no  vote  as  to  how  it  should  be  spent. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  75 

Almost  everywhere,  the  schools  are  pinched  for  money; 
but  in  the  equal  suffrage  states  this  is  not  tfie  case.  The 
Colorado  State  Superintendent  of  public  instruction  said  to 
me,  "Some  people  in  Colorado  grumble  about  the  size  of  the 
school  tax.  but  our  schools  have  money  enough."  Gen.  Irv- 
ing Hale  of  Denver  says:  "The  extension  of  suffrage  to 
women  has  made  it  easier  to  secure  liberal  appropriations  for 
education."  Colorado  appropriates  more  money  per  capita 
for  education  than  any  of  the  eastern  states,  which  are  so 
much  older  and  richer. 

Of  the  inadequate  amount  of  money  provided  for  school 
purposes,  the  women  teachers  do  not  get  their  fair  share. 
In  Massachusetts,  the  average  pay  of  a  woman  teacher  in 
the  public  schools  is  about  one-third  that  of  a  man.  In  New 
York,  the  richest  city  in  America,  the  women  teachers  are 
paid  so  poorly  that  there  are  hundreds  of  vacancies  in  the 
public  schools  for  which  no  teachers  can  be  found.  The 
women  teachers  of  New  York  have  for  years  been  using 
their  "indirect  influence"  to  the  utmost  to  secure  equal  pay 
for  equal  work,  but  without  avail.  In  Wyoming,  where  wom- 
en vote,  the  law  provides  that  women  teachers  shall  receive 
the  same  pay  as  men,  when  the  work  done  is  the  same. 
(Revised  Statutes  of  Wyoming,  Section  614.) 

The  news  that  Utah  had  granted  women  the  ballot  was 
quickly  followed  by  the  announcement  that  the  Legislature 
had  passed  a  bill  to  give  women  teachers  the  same  pay  as 
men  when  they  held  certificates  of  the  same  grade.  (Revised 
Statutes  of  Utah.  Section  1853.)  The  Colorado  State  Super- 
intendent of  public  instruction  says.  "There  is  no  difference 
made  in  teachers'  salaries  on  account  of  sex." 

President  Thomas  of  Bryn  Mawr  College  says:  "Expe- 
rience proves  that  women  as  well  as  men  need  the  ballot  to 
protect  them  in  their  special  interests  and  in  their  power  to 
gain  a  livelihood.  In  Philadelphia  no  woman  teacher  re- 
ceives the  same  salary  as  men  teachers  for  the  same  work, 
and  no  women,  however  successful,  are  appointed  to  the 
best-paid  and  most  influential  positions  in  the  schools.  What 
is  true  of  Philadelphia  is  true  in  the  main,  of  the  public 


76  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

schools  in  42  of  the  United  States;  but  it  is  ngt  true  in  the 
four  states  where  women  vote." 

Another  bane  of  the  schools,  and  especially  of  the  women 
teachers,  is  the  influence  of  partisan  politics.  Mrs.  Helen  L. 
Grenfell,  who  served  three  terms  as  State  Superintendent  of 
public  instruction  for  Colorado,  and  is  highly  esteemed  by 
educators  there,  says: 

"After  twenty  years'  experience,  I  can  say  that  our  school 
boards  are  absolutely  non-political  and  party  affiliation  is 
never  considered  in  the  appointment  of  teachers.  I  have 
never  heard  of  a  member  of  a  school  board  being  elected 
because  he  belonged  to  this  or  that  party.  Generally  both 
parties  are  represented  on  the  same  board.  Sometimes  a 
board  principally  Democratic  is  found  in  a  Republican  com- 
munity, and  vice  versa.  Our  teachers  are  free  to  vote  ac- 
cording to  their  own  consciences.  I  have  seen  or  heard  of 
more  party  politics  in  school  matters  in  one  block  in  Albany, 
Buffalo  or  Philadelphia  than  on  the  103,925  square  miles  of 
Colorado  soil." 

Westminster   Review.   174:  386-91.   October,   1910. 
Division  of  Labour  and  the  Ballot.     Raymond  V.  Phelan. 

That  the  old-fashioned  woman  needs  political  power  may 
be  a  startling  idea,  but  it  is  just  as  true  as  that  the  nefw- 
fashioned  woman  demands  such  power  as  a  final  step  in  her 
gradual  emancipation.  Those  who  are  able  to  see  the  full 
and  true  relation  of  woman  to  modern  economical  condi- 
tions, and  the  relation  of  such  conditions  to  political  power 
and  action,  very  sensibly  demand  political  equality.  This 
demand  the  old-fashioned  woman  and  the  old-fashioned  man 
meet  with  the  dictum  "woman  cannot  be  a  soldier,"  or  "I 
believe  in  a  division  of  labour  between  the  sexes."  The  fact 
is,  however,  that  the  conservative  cannot  logically  insist  upon 
such  a  division  of  labour  without  insisting  also  upon  suffrage 
for  women.  This  may  seem  strange  and  contradictory,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  true. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  77 

That  politics  and  law  affect  every  department  of  woman's 
activity  is  fully  apparent.  That  they  affect  the  industrial  and 
business  conditions  under  which  she  works  as  factory  hand, 
clerk,  teacher,  lawyer,  physician,  or  business  woman,  is 
plainly  evident.  They  affect  also  her  business  of  house- 
keeper and  home-maker.  The  girls  in  the  New  York  shirt- 
waist makers'  strike  of  1910-11  were  very  vitally  and  serious- 
ly affected  by  the  kind  of  police-officers  and  magistrates 
New  York  politics  had  put  into  or  allowed  to  get  into  the 
police  administration  of  the  city.  They  were  affected  by  the 
attitude  taken  towards  them  because  they  were  not  men 
strikers  with  votes.  These  girls  were  affected  also  by  the 
lack  of  sufficiently  enforced  sanitary  regulations  in  the  shirt- 
waist factories.  They  are  vitally  concerned  besides  with  the 
effect  of  a  tariff  on  hides  or  of  combinations  in  the  manu- 
facture of  leather,  either  of  which  may  affect  the  quality  of 
the  shoes  that  they  can  buy  for  a  certain  price.  The  school 
teachers  of  Chicago  were  formerly  affected  in  a  decidedly 
adverse  way  by  a  political  condition  in  their  city  which 
emphasized  the  Chicago  school  system  as  a  means  of  selling 
books,  whether  good  or  poor,  and  of  making  contracts 
favourable  to  business  or  to  politics,  instead  of  emphasizing 
it  as  a  system  of  developing  the  best  efficiency,  character, 
and  future  citizenship  in  the  children  of  Chicago.  These 
teachers  managed,  however,  to  change  that  lamentable  con- 
dition, when,  led  by  brave  and  energetic  Margaret  Haley, 
they  secured  the  support  of  men's  labour  unions,  unions  with 
votes  to  lend,  compelling  emphasis  to  their  protests  and  to 
their  demands  for  a  school  administration  that  emphasizes 
the  welfare  of  the  child,  and  furthers  that  welfare  by  making 
his  teacher's  tenure  safe,  and  by  allowing  her  to  use  the 
books  with  which  she  can  best  fulfil  her  obligation  to  her 
pupils.  Higher  wages,  too,  and  just  wages,  such  as  the 
women  teachers  of  New  York,  under  the  leadership  of  Dis- 
trict Superintendent  Grace  Strachan,  have  been  contending 
for  in  their  well-supported  and  just  struggle  of  f.our  years 
for  equal  pay  for  equal  service,  often  means  more  content- 
ment, less  worry,  and  better  teaching.  Can  it  be  possible 


78  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

that  the  school  teacher  is  unworthy  of  suffrage?  If  she  is 
fit  to  teach,  is  it  possible  that  she  can  be  unfit  to  vote? 
Woman  owns  property  and  carries  on  business.  It  may 
fairly  be  asked  whether  her  sex  makes  the  effect  of  law  and 
politics  upon  such  property  and  business,  different  from  their 
effect  upon  the  property  and  business  of  man,  or  if  she  is 
worthy  of  the  trust  and  responsibility  of  owning  property 
and  managing  business,  whether  she  is  not  entitled  to  and 
fully  worthy  of  political  power,  that  will  aid  her  in  helping 
to  secure  legislation  and  administration  favourable  to  the 
protection  of  or  to  an  increased  value  of  such  property,  or 
to  prevent  legislation  and  administration  that  might  be 
injurious  to  her  property'or  to  her  business? 

"But,"  protests  the  old  fashioned  woman,  "woman's  place 
is  in  the  home;  her  proper  concern  is  with  children,  with 
education,  with  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  the  family." 
This  contention  of  the  conservative,  upon  analysis,  reveals  a 
strong  argument  for  suffrage.  In  apportioning  the  work  of 
the  world  to  man  and  the  work  of  the  home  to  woman,  the 
conservative,  undoubtedly  quite  unconsciously,  established  a 
very  sufficient  basis  for  insistence  upon  votes  for  women.  For 
is  not  the  education  of  children  affected  by  politics  through 
political  effects  upon  school  systems,  and  school  adminis- 
tration; is  not  the  sanitation  of  the  neighborhood  so  affect- 
ed; are  not  the  prices  paid  by  the  housewife  and  the  quality 
of  the  things  that  she  buys  affected  by  politics — by  tariffs, 
by  industrial  combinations,  by  railroad  rates,  by  well-drawn 
and  well-administered  food  laws  or  by  their  lack,  by  the 
provisions  in  her  community  regulating  the  price  and  the 
quality  of  light  and  water?  Numerous  instances  can  be 
cited  to  show  that  the  progressive  man  wants  more  busi- 
ness, and  that  in  his  pursuit  of  business  he  too  often  fails  to 
have  a  due  regard  for  public  health;  while  the  progressive 
woman  wants  a  community  fit  to  live  in.  Is  the  woman's 
aim  and  desire  of  less  public  and  social  consequence  than 
that  of  the  man,  whose  mind  is  necessarily  and  desirably 
filled  with  business?  In  view  of  the  much  proclaimed 
sacredness  and  blessedness  of  the  home,  ought  not  its  priest- 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  79 

ess  to  have  political  power  to  protect  her  sanctum  and  his, 
against  the  overly  business  inclinations  of  the  man?  The 
conservative  talks  much  of  woman  as  a  complement  of  man. 
Man  is,  of  course,  interested  in  the  home;  he  usually  carries 
on  business  largely  for  the  sake  of  the  home.  But  while 
man  is  interested  in  the  home,  his  more  intelligent  and 
alert  interest  is  in  business  and  industry;  while  the  woman's 
more  intelligent  and  alert  interest  is  in  the  home  and  in  the 
way  in  which  business,  politics,  and  law  affect  the  home 
and  the  community.  The  woman,  in  a  word,  is  specially 
qualified  to  represent  at  the  polls  the  claims  of  the  home  to 
protection  and  consideration.  That  woman  will  immediate- 
ly work  a  revolution  in  politics  is  neither  to  be  hoped  for  by 
the  friend  of  social  progress  nor  to  be  feared  by  those  ap- 
prehensive as  to  the  results  of  woman  suffrage.  The  rank 
and  file  of  woman  must  be  given  time  to  get  used  to  the 
status  of  full  citizenship,  to  grow  up  to  the  sense  of  responsi- 
bility and  to  the  capacity  characteristic  of  their  more  pro- 
gressive and  intelligent  leaders.  It  is,  indeed,  a  point  of 
strength  rather  than  of  weakness  in  the  suffrage  movement 
that  so  large  a  number  do  not  seem  to  want  political  free- 
dom, for  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  large  numbers  of  men 
are  not  worthy  of  the  ballot.  Consequently,  it  is  to  be  ex- 
pected, since  for  the  most  part  only  intelligent  and  progres- 
sive women  will  vote — of  course  some  unintelligent  women 
will  be  voted  by  party  bosses  or  by  domineering  male  rela- 
tives— that  the  electorate  will  be  improved  in  character  by 
the  woman  voter.  At  any  rate,  the  home  is  entitled  to  its 
woman  representative  at  the  polls.  In  politics  the  woman 
with  the  vote  will  be  the  complement  of  man. 

Two  things  drive  women  into  business,  industry,  and  the 
professions — necessity'  and  self-respect.  The  conservative, 
notwithstanding,  often  denies  to  women  outside  of  the  home 
any  right  to  political  power,  declaring  in  justification  of  his 
refusal  that  they  are  out  of  their  sphere.  On  the  very  basis 
of  his  contention,  however,  the  conservative,  cannot  logically 
deny  the  ballot  to  the  woman,  who,  within  her  so-called 
sphere,  has  the  too  often  difficult  task  of  serving  as  the 


8o  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

business  manager  of  the  home.  Is  the  income  of  the  fac- 
tory in  money  or  its  output  in  the  commodities  of  commerce 
more  important  than  the  output  of  the  home  ready  for  use 
and  emjoyment,  in  the  form'of  utilities  making  for  health, 
efficiency,  and  happiness?  The  business  of  home-making  is 
undeniably  affected  by  politics,  by  law,  by  public  regulation 
of  the  production  and  use  of  the  things  that  satisfy  human 
wants. 

All  over  the  world  women  are  managing  little  workshops 
where  the  necessaries,  conveniences,  and  luxuries  of  life  are 
collected,  and  often  transformed  to  afford  health,  efficiency, 
and  happiness  to  the  family.  In  the  home  woman  is  a  man- 
ufacturer and  a  business  manager.  She  buys  supplies  an$ 
material;  some  of  these  she  transforms  in  her  kitchen;  she 
hires  help  many  times;  she  studies  the  markets  for  her  sup- 
plies; she  studies  the  market  for  her  products;  that  is,  the 
needs  and  the  desires  of  her  family.  Often  her  money 
capital  is  so  small  as  compared  with  her  business  that  she 
is  obliged  to  add  to  her  role  of  captain  of  industry  that  of 
general  of  high  finance.  She  is  running  a  business,  this 
home-maker  is.  Her  husband  is  only  the  capitalist  who 
furnishes  the  money  capital  for  her  business.  His  work  is 
outside  of  the  home.  There  is  another  difference,  too.  The 
spirit  of  associations  and  of  combination  in  the  business 
world  is  fast  making,  if  it  has  not  already  made,  the  average 
man  a  mere  cog  in  a  great  industrial  organization;  while,  be- 
cause of  the  persistence  of  individualism  in  home-making,  the 
average  woman  continues  to  be  an  independent  producer 
and  business  manager,  and  a  business  manager,  too,  whom 
increasing  education — both  along  general  lines  and  in  domes- 
tic science  and  home  economics — and  an  increasing  sense  of 
individuality  are  making  more  and  more  effective. 

To  deny  woman  the  ballot  is  equivalent  either  to  putting 
off  upon  man  political  duty  and  obligation  not  connected 
with  his  business  of  earning  money  capital  for  the  home,  or 
to  denying  the  home  political  opportunity  to  secure  law  and 
administration  favourable  to  its  interests,  and  to  prevent  un- 
favourable law  or  administration.  Two  seeming  objections 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  8r 

might  be  raised  to  this  argument.  First,  it  may  be  asked, 
have  the  husband  and  wife  conflicting  interests?  By  no 
means.  But  the  special  work  and  more  intimate  interest 
connected  with  the  work  of  each,  husband  and  wife,  qualify 
the  one  to  see  best  and  clearest  the  business  interest  in  poli- 
tics; qualify  the  other  to  see  the  home  interest.  Social  wel- 
fare calls  for  a  reconciliation  of  these  two  interests.  Such 
reconciliation  can  be  affected  by  the  man  and  the  woman. 
But,  objects  our  conservative  friend,  why  not  one  vote  rather 
than  two?  The  answer  is  easily  found.  Because  there  is 
nothing  in  the  nature  of  things  why  the  woman  should  not 
vote  instead  of  the  man,  and  as  yet  there  is  no  evidence  that 
man  will  give  up  his  voting  prerogative  to  woman.  In 
America,  at  least,  there  seem  to  be  very  strong  reasons  why 
many  women  should  vote  instead  of  men;  these  reasons  are 
that  more  girls  than  boys  are  receiving  a  liberal  education; 
and  in  very  many  instances  women  have  more  leisure  than 
men  to  study  public  questions.  If  the  conservative  objects 
on  the  ground  that  woman's  business  of  home-making  is  dif- 
ferent from  man's  business  of  home-making,  he  puts  the 
granting  and  with-holding  of  the  suffrage  on  occupational 
grounds.  In  that  case  the  woman  wage-earner  and  the  busi- 
ness and  professional  woman  would  be  rightfully  entitled  to 
the  ballot.  The  retort  that  such  women  are  out  of  their 
sphere  can  be  of  no  force;  first,  because  the  conservative 
has  in  this  case  put  the  ballot  on  the  occupational  basis; 
and  secondly,  because  economic  conditions,  not  woman,  are 
in  the  main  responsible  for  her  presence  outside  of  the 
home.  It  is  illogical,  furthermore,  to  argue  that  man  should 
vote  as  an  individual,  and  the  woman,  business  manager  of 
the  home,  should  vote  by  proxy  through  a  mere  supplier 
of  money  capital.  Besides,  if  man's  dignity,  sense  of  im- 
portance, self-respect,  and  feeling  of  individualism  are  pro- 
moted by  his  right  to  vote,  is  it  not  important  that  the 
maker  of  the  home,  and  the  educator  of  the  children  of  the 
family  should  be  a  voting  stockholder  in  the  government, 
should  have  her  sense  of  power  and  of  importance  added  to 
by  being  given  the  right  to  vote?  In  the  words  of  Madame 


82  SELECTED   ARTICLES 

Nordica,  "Woman,  a  creature  who  is  entrusted  with  the 
bringing  up  of  souls  at  their  most  critical  and  formative 
period,  should  certainly  be  credited  with  judgment  enough 
to  act  as  an  individual."  The  second  seeming  objection  ad- 
verted to  above  is  that  it  is  a  man's  business  to  look  out  for 
the  welfare  of  his  home  and  of  his  family.  This  is  undeni- 
.  able  as  far  as  his  business  of  supplying  money  capital  for 
the  home,  and  of  acting  as  counsellor  to  his  wife  are  con- 
cerned, but  it  is  a  contradiction  to  say  that  woman's  busi- 
ness is  home-making  and  at  the  same  time  to  deny  her  the 
political  power  that  she  needs  as  home-maker.  Such  a 
denial,  for  example,  prevents  her  and  her  sister  managers  of 
homes  from  voting  against  candidates  who  would,  through  a 
tariff,  increase  their  expense  of  home-making,  from  voting  for 
a  bond  issue  that  is  necessary  to  getting  cheap,  pure  water 
for  their  families,  or  for  candidates  who  will  put  through  a 
building  code  that  will  prevent  neighbouring  landlords  from 
shutting  air  and  light  out  of  their  houses.  Furthermore,  the 
best  home-making  can  never  be  accomplished  by  a  woman 
who  stands  in  the  practical  relation  of  subordinate  and  em- 
ployee to  her  husband;  the  best  home-making  calls  for  a 
woman  with  a  sense  of  authority  and  individuality.  In  these 
days,  when  the  business  of  the  home  is  so  vitally  affected 
by  the  politics  and  the  policies  of  the  community  and  of 
the  nation,  the  best  home-making  calls  for  the  citizen  wom- 
an. Woman  needs  political  power  to  protect  and  further  her 
business  of  home-making,  just  as  man  needs  and  has  politi- 
cal power  to  protect  and  further  his  business  of  money- 
making.  Division  of  labour  between  the  sexes  in  this  age  is 
incomplete  without  full  political  equality. 

World  To-Day.   19:  1017-21.   September,  1910. 

Evolution  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement. 

Ida  H.  Harper. 

The    army 'of   women    who    will    eventually    demand    and 
obtain   the   franchise   is   being  rapidly   recruited.     Partly  be- 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  83 

cause  of  the  English  situation,  as  has  been  described,  a  great 
awakening  is  taking  place  among  American  women,  but 
there  are  other  equally  potent  reasons  for  it.  The  great 
organizations  of  women  are  becoming  permeated  with  the 
knowledge  that  they  can  never  accomplish  their  various 
objects  without  the  power  of  a  vote.  The  Federation  of 
women's  clubs,  with  its  million  members,  is  not  very  far 
from  being  a  suffrage  association.  The  National  council  of 
women  and  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  each 
with  a  membership  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  stand  un- 
equivocally for  the  franchise.  The  National  Women's  Trade 
Unions  League  and  all  its  branches  demand  the  ballot,  and 
here  woman  suffrage  will  eventually  find  its  strongest  sup- 
port. 

The  teachers'  federations  in  various  states,  fighting  their 
unequal  battle  for  equal  pay,  are  realizing  the  terrible  handi- 
cap of  disfranchisement.  The  question  is  taking  hold  upon 
the  colleges  and  those  of  thirty  states  are  already  organized 
into  a  National  Suffrage  League,  its  members  bringing  into 
the  work  the  freshness  and  enthusiasm  of  youth,  the  inde- 
pendence and  assertion  of  their  rights  characteristic  of 
modern  young  women,  who  will  not  endure  the  injustices 
practiced  toward  their  mothers. 

In  every  locality  can  be  seen  this  new  tendency,  and  it  is 
very  largely  the  development  of  the  last  two  or  three  years. 
There  will  be  no  retrogression.  This  fact  may  now  be  ac- 
cepted without  further  question:  the  women  of  the  United 
States  intend  to  have  the  suffrage.  No  power  on  earth  can 
shake  them  in  this  determination. 


Delineator.  77:  85-6.  February,  1911. 

Measuring  Up  Equal  Suffrage. 
George  Creel  and  Ben  B.  Lindsey. 

Colorado,  better,  perhaps,  than  any  other  state,  affords  an 
opportunity  for  a  fair  appraisal  of  equal  suffrage's  value,  of 
its  merits  and  demerits,  its  efficiency  or  its  failure'.  This 


84  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

commonwealth  is  peculiarly  suited  for  such  an  examination 
by  reason  of  the  typical  Americanism  that  marks  its  people 
and  its  problems.  Within  its  border  is  every  hope  that  ani- 
mates the  national  heart,  and  every  menace  that  casts  its 
shadow  over  our  democratic  institutions.  The  pioneer  spirit 
still  survives — taming  mountains,  harnessing  torrents,  bring- 
ing deserts  into  bloom— and  side  by  side  with  hardy  enter- 
prise and  unconscious  idealism  there  are  those  forces  of 
ruthless  commercialism  so  intimately  identified  with  modern- 
ity. Against  this  background  of  characteristic  conditions, 
the  medley  of  courage  and  craft,  patriotism  and  rapacity, 
honor  and  dishonor,  that  is  America — equal  suffrage  has 
limned  itself  more  boldly  than  could  have  been  possible  in 
many  other  states. 

It  has  been  one  of  the  great  bells  that  has  aroused  Colo- 
rado to  the  work  of  flushing  filth  from  its  politics,  bettering 
economic  conditions,  mitigating  the  cruelties  of  industrialism, 
promoting  equal  and  exact  justice,  and  making  for  a  more 
wholesome  and  expansive  environment.  To  these  ends,  in 
the  short  space  of  seventeen  years,  it  has  aided  in  placing  a 
score  of  needed  laws  on  the  statute  books.  It  has  raised 
new  standards  of  public  service,  of  political  morality  and  of 
official  honesty.  It  has  helped  to  lift  the  curse  of  corpora- 
tion control  from  the  government.  It  has  gone  far  to  bit 
and  bridle  the  lawless  "liquor  interests."  It  has  made  for 
a  fuller,  finer  participation  in  public  affairs,  and  by  the  intro- 
duction of  a  distinctly  independent  element  into  partizan 
politics,  it  has  compelled  the  adoption  of  progressive  plat- 
forms and  the  nomination  of  better  candidates  than  the  "old 
way"  ever  knew. 

If  the  reform  were  pinned  down  to  a  specific  result,  and 
discussion  limited  to  one  concrete  outcome,  equal  suffrage 
could  well  afford  to  rest  its  case  on  the  findings  of  the  Inter- 
Parliamentary  Union.  This  globe-circling  organization  of 
men  and  women,  who  play  important  parts  in  the  public 
affairs  of  their  various  countries,  is  on  record  as  declaring 
that  "Colorado  has  the  sanest,  the  most  humane,  the  most 
progressive,  most  scientific  laws  relating  to  the  cfiild  to  be 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  85 

found  on  any  statute  book  in  the  world."  And  of  these 
laws  which  drew  such  praise  from  impartial  sociologists,  not 
one  but  has  come  into  operation  since  Colorado's  adoption  of 
equal  suffrage  in  1893;  not  one  but  owes  either  its  inception 
or  its  success  to  the  voting  woman.  Even  in  those  cases 
where  the  law  was  not  originated,  not  specifically  cham- 
pioned by  them,  they  elected  the  official  responsible  for  the 
law,  and  whose  candidacy  had  its  base  in  revolt  and  reform. 
The  list  is  as  long  as  splendid:  laws  establishing  a  state 
home  for  dependent  children,  three  of  the  five  members  of 
the  board  to  be  women;  making  mothers  joint  guardians  of 
their  children  with  the  fathers;  raising  the  age  of  protection 
for  girls  to  eighteen  years;  creating  juvenile  courts;  making 
education  compulsory  for  all  children  between  the  ages  of 
eight  and  sixteen,  except  the  ailing,  those  taught  at  home, 
those  over  fourteen  who  have  completed  the  eighth  grade, 
those  who  support  themselves,  or  whose  parents  need  their 
help  and  support;  establishing  truant  or  parental  schools; 
forbidding  the  insuring  of  the  lives  of  children  under  ten; 
making  it  a  criminal  offense  for  parents  or  other  persons  to 
contribute  to  the  delinquency  of  children;  forbidding  chil- 
dren of  sixteen  or  under  to  work  more  than  eight  hours  a 
day  in  any  mill,  factory  or  store  or  in  any  other  occupation 
that  may  be  deemed  unhealthful;  requiring  that  at  least  three 
of  the  six  members  of  the  Board  of  county  visitors  be  wom- 
en; establishing  a  state  industrial  home  for' girls,  three  of  the 
five  members  of  the  Board  of  control  to  be  women;  includ- 
ing instruction  concerning  the  humane  treatment  of  animals 
in  the  public  school  course;  providing  that  any  person  em- 
ploying a  child  under  fourteen  in  any  mine,  smelter,  mill, 
factory  or  underground  works,  shall  be  punished  by  im- 
pr^onment  in  addition  to  fine;  abolishing  the  binding  out  of 
industrial-home  girls  until  twenty-one,  and  providing  for 
parole;  forbidding  prosecuting  and  arresting  officers  from 
collecting  fees  in  cases  against  children;  providing  that  at 
least  two  thousand  dollars  of  the  estate  of  a  deceased  parent 
shall  be  paid  to  the  child  before  creditors'  claims  are  satis- 
fied. 


86  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

These  laws,  directly  concerned  with  the  welfare  of  the 
child,  are  supplemented  by  the  following  safeguards  thrown 
about  motherhood,  the  home,  and  general  sociological  con- 
ditions: 

Laws  making  father  and  mother  joint  heirs  of  deceased 
children;  requiring  joint  signature  of  husband  and  wife  to 
every  chattel  mortgage,  sale  of  household  goods  used  by 
the  family,  or  conveyance  or  mortage  of  homestead;  making 
it  a  misdemeanor  to  fail  to  support  aged  or  infirm  parents; 
providing  that  no  woman  shall  work  more  than  eight  hours 
a  day  at  labor  requiring  her  to  be  on  her  feet;  requiring  one 
woman  physician  on  the  board  of  the  insane  asylum;  pro- 
viding for  the  care  of  the  feeble-minded,  for  their  free 
maintenance,  and  for  the  inspection  of  private  eleemonsynary 
institutions  by  the  State  board  of  charities;  making  the 
Colorado  Humane  Society  a  state  bureau  of  child  and  ani- 
mal protection;  enforcing  pure-food  inspection  in  harmony 
with  the  national  law;  providing  that  foreign  life  or  accident 
insurance  companies,  when  sued,  must  pay  the  costs;  es- 
tablishing a  state  traveling  library  commission  to  consist  of 
five  women  from  the  State  federation  of  women's  clubs;  and 
making  it  a  criminal  offense  to  fail,  refuse  or  neglect  to 
provide  food,  clothing,  shelter  and  care  in  case  of  sickness 
of  wife  or  minor  child. 

The  woman  voter  has  boldly  and  intelligently  dealt  with 
t'ne  "criminal  problem,"  the  "labor  problem,"  and  the  "suf- 
frage problem."  Not  only  has  the  "indeterminate  sentence" 
been  written  on  the  statute  books,  and  probation  laws  of 
greatest  latitude  adopted,  but  women  serving  on  the  peniten- 
tiary and  reform  school  boards  have  practically  revolution- 
ized the  conduct  of  penal  institutions  in  Colorado.  Broken 
fnen  are  mended  now.  not  further  cowed  and  crushed.  A 
State  free  employment  bureau,  with  offices  in  all  Colorado 
cities  of  more  than  twenty-five  thousand,  has  worked  won- 
ders, and  the  bitter  cry  of  the  unemployed  is  less  and  less 
heard;  and  women  have  largely  engineered  the  effective  cam- 
paign in  favor  of  direct  legislation,  and  have  been  almost 
solidly  behind  the  fight  for  the  initiative  and  referendum,  and 
direct  primary,  and  the  commission  form  of  government. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  87 

At  the  last  Denver  election,  held  May  27,  1910,  both  Re- 
publican and  Democratic  parties  were  compelled  to  recog- 
nize the  popular  demand,  and  present  charter  amendments 
providing  for  the  initiative,  refendum.  recall  and  a  water 
commission.  But,  under  the  control  of  public  service  cor- 
porations, and  practically  financed  by  the  water  monopoly, 
which  was  asking  for  a  new  franchise,  "fake"  amendments 
were  framed  by  the  old  parties.  Skilful  indeed  was  the 
wording — every  amendment  "looked  good" — yet  not  one  but 
had  a  "joker"  in  it.  At  the  last  moment  a  Citizens'  Party 
took  the  field,  women  behind  it  and  a  woman  on  the  ticket. 
Real  initiative,  referendum  and  recall  amendments  were  pre- 
pared, and  a  distinguished  water  commission  named  with 
power  to  either  buy  the  water  company's  plant  at  a  fixed 
figure,  or  build  a  new  one. 

Against  both  organizations,  corporation  money,  and  every 
professional  politician  and  party  henchman,  the  Citizens' 
ticket  won  an  overwhelming  victory.  Denver  now  possesses 
the  initiative,  referendum  and  recall;  and  by  virtue  of  a  bond 
issue  carried  September  6,  1910,  Denver  will  build  its  own 
water  plant,  and  be  forever  freed  from  as  arrogant  and  rapa- 
cious a  monopoly  as  ever  cursed  a  community. 

And  the  women  voters  led! 

Equal  suffrage  has  been  one  of  the  great  first  causes  of 
these  laws,  reforms  and  revolts.  Surely,  in  the  face  of  such 
results,  fair-minded  people  must  be  shown  a  tremendous 
counterbalancing  of  injury  and  evil  before  they  can  justly 
condemn  the  movement.  And  what  is  it  that  the  anti-equal- 
suffragists  chiefly  urge?  That  "It  destroys  the  home." 

Since  it  is  admittedly  the  case  that  equal  suffrage  has 
safeguarded  the  home  by  scientific  laws,  and  sweetened  and 
bettered  communal  conditions  directly  bearing  upon  the 
home,  this  charge  must  be  regarded  as  specifically  leveled 
at  the  women  in  the  home..  In  fact,  the  more  blackguardly 
critics  have  not  hesitated  to  declare  that  "the  character  of 
the  Colorado  woman  is  steadily  deteriorating  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  ballot." 

It   is.   of   course,   a    charge   that    defies    detailed    disproof. 


88  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

To  those  who  have  visited  Colorado,  admired  the  conjunc- 
tion of  taste  and  care  that  marks  the  Colorado  home,  and  re- 
joiced in  the  intelligence  and  refinement  of  the  state's  wom- 
anhood, the  slander  is  at  once  apparent.  To  others  the 
only  thing  that  can  be  offered  is  a  flat  denial  from  every 
Colorado  man. 

Why,  in  the  name  of  reason,  should  the  mere  fact  of  vot- 
ing work  deterioration  in  any  woman?  It  does  not  take  any 
mother  "away  from  her  home  duties"  to  spend  ten  minutes 
going  to  the  polls,  casting  her  vote,  and  returning  to  the 
bosom  of  her  family,  but  during  those  ten  minutes  she  wields 
a  power  that  is  doing  more  to  protect  her  home,  and  all 
other  homes,  than  any  other  possible  influence. 

Just  as  all  the  laws  passed  by  the  women  significantly 
concern  the  home  and  its  environment,  just  so  does  partici- 
pation in  public  affairs  seem  to  have  given  Colorado  women 
a  deeper,  more  intelligent  and  energetic  interest  in  their 
\  homes.  By  the  legal  establishment  and  recognition  of  wom- 
an's citizenship,  the  intellect  and  character  and  reciprocal 
estimation  of  both  sexes  has  been  raised.  The  possession  of 
the  ballot  has  given  women  an  interest  in  general  as  well  as 
political  affairs,  and  this  has  naturally  stimulated  the  men. 
Instead  of  the  old  perfunctory  chit-chat  of  the  average  do- 
mestic circle — the  relation  of  personal  doings  and  gossip  as 
the  base  of  conjugal  conversation — there  has  been  an  in- 
jection of  ideas,  the  dawning  of  an  intelligent  and  more  inti- 
mate companionship.  The  woman,  instead  of  being  shut  off 
from  her  husband's  larger  thoughts  and  outside  interests, 
now  shares  in  them;  and  even  where  the  partnership  is  not 
particularly  illuminative,  it  is  certainly  an  improvement. 

What  statistics  there  are  all  fail  to  show  that  the  home 
broadening  has  been  attended  by  "coarsening  and  deteriora- 
tion." The  Colorado  birth-rate  has  increased  steadily,  and 
the  school  population  has  gained  twenty-five  per  cent  in  five 
years.  The  most  careful  investigation  of  court  records  proves 
that  there  has  never  been  a  divorce  where  the  wife's  political 
activity  was  assigned  as  the  cause.  The  United  States  re- 
ports show  fewer  women  in  the  wage-earning  class  in  Colo- 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  89 

rado  than  there  are  in  any  other  state  and  a  higher  average 
of  wages  for  both  men  and  women.  The  average  yearly  male 
earnings  in  the  United  States  are  $513,  and  the  average  year- 
ly female  earnings  $213,  yet  Colorado  shows  an  average  of 
$638  for  men,  $554  for  women. 

In  this  connection  it  is  fair  to  consider  club  life,  which 
plays  an  important  part  in  the  feminine  activities  of  every 
town  and  city  in  the  land.  Under  equal  suffrage,  the  wom- 
an's club  has  undergone  a  startling  transformation.  Instead 
of  being  confined  to  the  old  innocuous  topics,  the  imprac- 
ticalities  of  "culture"  and  "near  thought,"  these  organiza- 
tions, stripped  of  their  inutility,  now  aim  at  specific  purposes 
and  achieve  useful  ends.  The  deliberations  cover  such  sub- 
jects as  'educational  problems,  local  option,  joint  property, 
election  reforms,  direct  legislation,  pure  food,  domestic  sci- 
ence, the  proper  conduct  of  city,  county  and  state  institu- 
tions, sociology,  and  all  manner  of  political  and  industrial 
reforms. 

In  addition  to  the  "culture  clubs"  that  have  been  given 
breadth  and  purpose,  there  are  women's  political  clubs  is 
almost  every  town  in  the  state,  not  for  the  securement  of 
offices,  but  for  intelligent  study  of  measures,  conditions  and 
remedies.  Legislators  and  public  men  have  come  to  regard 
it  as  a  privilege  to  appear  befor*e  these  organizations.  And 
when  this  permission  is  granted,  it  is  not  in  the  interests  of 
candidacies  or  schemes,  but  out  of  a  desire  to  get  a  clearer 
understanding  of  some  pending  or  proposed  measure.  Con- 
trary to  the  general  belief,  women  have  proved  notoriously 
slow  iii  giving  their  approval  and  support,  but.  once  com- 
mitted, their  enthusiasm  knows  no  bounds.  Against  this 
open  and  publicly-exerted  influence  of  the  voting  woman,  the 
"silent  influence"  preached  by  the  anti-suffragist  makes  a 
most  sorry  showing.  Before  Colorado  women  had  the  fran- 
chise, they  vainly  used  the  great  "silent  influence"  in  an 
effort  to  have  kindergartens  made  part  of  the  public-school 
system.  After  the  adoption  of  equal  suffrage,  they  forced 
the  reform  within  a  year. 

Massachusetts,  where  the  women  "keep  their  place  in  the 


90  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

home,"  and  depend  entirely  upon  "silent  influence,"  worked 
fifty-five  years  getting  one  little  law  making  the  mother 
equal  guardian  of  minor  children  with  the  father.  Colorado 
wpmen  received  suffrage  in  1893,  and  in  1894  they  put  this 
law  on  the  statute  books. 

The  fact  that  comparatively  few  women  have  been  ele- 
vated to  high  official  position  in  Colorado  is  entirely  trace- 
able to  the  voting  woman's  own  initial  desire.  After  equal 
suffrage  had  been  granted  them  in  1893,  there  was  a  tacit 
agreement,  a  sort  of  "unwritten  law,"  that  women  should  not 
rush  into  office-seeking. 

But  while  there  has  been  no  office-seeking,  women  have 
not  shirked  responsibility.  When  the  masculine  mind  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  educational  matters  called  for  feminine 
supervision,  the  women  responded,  and  have  invariably  made 
splendid  records.  Since  1894  both  parties  have  nominated 
women  for  the  office  of  state  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  out  of  the  sixty  county  superintendents  of  schools 
in  Colorado,  forty  are  women.  Quite  a  number  of  women 
have  held,  and  are  holding,  important  municipal  and  county 
offices;  some  ten  odd  have  sat  in  the  Legislature;  four  wom- 
en worked  masterfully  on  a  Denver  charter  board,  and  all 
the  state  boards  have  women  members  who  are  a  credit  to 
the  state. 

It  is  to  be  wished  that  a  Colorado  election  day  could  be 
taken  on  tour.  If  "tourist  critics"  are  to  be  believed,  and 
credence  given  the  anonymous  liars  that  "stuff"  the  Eastern 
press,  the  Colorado  election  is  a  rare  combination  of  Moulin 
Rouge  orgy  and  western  dance-hall  scene.  It  is  a  shame  to 
spoil  so  colorful  an  illusion,  but  truth  compels  the  humiliat- 
ing admission  that  election  day  in  Colorado  is  marked  by  the 
most  absolute  matter-of-factness,  the  very  quintessence  of 
normality.  Excited  by  accounts  of  the  doings  of  English 
"suffragettes,"  and  keyed  to  high  expectation  by  lurid  sland- 
ers, the  visitor  comes  primed  for  something  beyond  the  or- 
dinary, and  is  pained  and  disappointed  to  find  no.  departure 
from  the  usual.  The  day,  except  for  an  entire  lack  of 
drunkenness  and  disorder,  is  not  one  whit  different  from 
election  days  in  states  where  only  male  suffrage  obtains. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE     .  91 

Mrs.  Helen  Grenfell,  three  times  elected  state  superinten- 
dent of  public  instruction,  has  made  three  campaigns  through 
the  state,  visiting  every  county,  and  may  properly  be  regard- 
ed as  an  expert  witness.  "In  seventeen  years'  exercise  of 
the  franchise,"  Mrs.  Grenfell  testifies.  "I  have  yet  to  see  an 
intoxicated  man,  to  hear  an  oath,  or  see  discourteous  action 
toward  any  woman  at  the  polling  places,  although  informed 
that  in  rare  instances  such  things  have  occurred  in  a  few  of 
the  less  desirable  localities." 

It  is  not  the  Colorado  custom  for  women  to  electioneer, 
but  even  in  those  cases  where  they  remain  about  the  poll- 
ing places,  distributing  literature  or  cards,  dignity  is  rarely 
laid  aside  and  even  the  familiarities  of  persuasiveness  are  not 
employed.  There  is  an  unwritten  law  among  them  that 
forbids  this  sort  of  thing,  and  the  woman  who  wishes  to 
play  an  important  part  in  politics  must  carefully  guard 
against  the  disapproval  of  her  sex. 

This,  of  course,  applies  to  the  residence  wards  and  the 
average  family  woman.  The  ballot  does  not  endow  the 
unskilled  laborer's  ignorant  wife  with  the  manners  of  a 
Vere  de  Vere,  nor  lift  the  prostitute  above  her  shame.  And 
in  this  connection,  let  the  vote  of  the  "red  light"  district  be 
considered.  For  if  the  word  of  slander  is  to  be  taken,  Colo- 
rado elections  are  controlled  by  the  "immoral  vote,"  and 
every  election  day  affords  opportunity  for  prostitution's 
triumph. 

This  is  a  charge  that  is  easily  made,  and  one  that  is 
very  effective  with  many  worthy  people,  for  bare  mention 
of  the  social  evil  excites  a  certain  repugnance  that  is  op- 
posed to  fair  consideration.  It  has  the  terror  of  the  leper's 
bell,  the  horror  of  things  unclean.  But,  in  leveling  the, 
charge,  one  or  two  assumptions  must  be  made.  Either  there 
are  more  prostitutes  than  decent  women  in  Colorado,  or  else 
the  prostitutes  vote  and  the  decent  women  do  not.  Honest 
inquiry,  however,  meets  with  few  difficulties.  In  Colorado 
prostitution  is  confined  to  its  four  or  five  cities,  and  only 
exists  in  the  balance  of  the  state  as  a  wind-blown  evil  that 
follows  the  rise  and  fall  of  mining  camps. 


92  •   SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Denver,  as  the  largest  city  in  the  state,  contains  the 
largest  number  of  prostitutes.  In  considering  Denver  then, 
the  anti-equal-suffragistj  would  seem  to  have  the  fairest 
chance  of  proving  his  contention,  while  the  equal-suffragist 
might  well  claim  unfairness  in  taking  the  metropolis  instead 
of  the  average  town.  But  what  do  the  figures  show? 

Chief  of  Police  Armstrong  puts  the  number  of  professional 
prostitutes  in  Denver  at  five  hundred,  and  establishes  the 
"red  light  district"  as  precincts,  i,  2  and  3  in  the  fourth 
ward.  The  board  of  election  commissioners  furnishes  these 
figures  on  female  registration  and  voting  in  those  precincts: 

Registered.  Voted. 

Precinct   I    54  46 

Precinct  2  61  53 

Precinct  3  61  45 

176  144 

The  commissioners,  by  reason  of  facts  stated  on  the  reg- 
istration books,  advise  that  ten  per  cent  of  this  number  be 
considered  as  respectable  women — wives  of  unskilled  la- 
borers, etc.  Deducting  this  ten  per  cent,  the  total  Denver  reg- 
istration of  prostitutes  at  the  last  election  was  159,  with  only 
130  voting. 

A  little  intelligent  thought  will  quickly  prove  that  the 
professional  prostitute  does  not  want  to  vote.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  she  plies  her  unhappy  trade  under  an  assumed 
name,  and  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage  right  forces  her  into 
the  open  and  entails  admissions  she  would  fain  conceal.  The 
class  is,  of  course,  under  the  thumb  of  the  police,  and  there 
have  been  campaigns  when  certain  "City  Hall  machines"  did 
drag  the  unfortunate  creatures  to  the  polls.  But  public  sen- 
timent has  declared  against  this  so  furiously,  that  the  prac- 
tice has  entirely  ceased.  A  political  party  in  Colorado  could 
not  invite  surer  doom  than  by  herding  the  "immoral  vote"  to 
the  polls. 

But  even  did  the  whole  500  vote  instead  of  130,  ,  and 
cast  their  ballots  solidly  at  some  behest,  how  could  it 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  93 

possibly  have  effect?  At  the  last  election  almost  30,000 
women  voted  in  Denver.  What  are  500  votes  compared  to 
this  number?  And  ye,t  the  lie  that  the  "immoral  vote" 
swings  Colorado  elections  has  had  weight  in  the  land,  and 
is  even  the  occasion  of  head-wagging  among  the  uninformed, 
easily  impressed  in  Colorado  itself. 

And  now  for  that  other  assumption — the  inference  that 
the  "good  women"  do  not  vote,  and  do  not  "want  to  vote." 
The  following  figures  are  furnished  by  Denver  in  the  elec- 
tion of  1908: 

Women.          Men. 

Registered    35>62o  4I-54O 

Voted   29,084  36,891 


Not  voting  6,536  4,649 

Reliable  statistics  with  regard  to  voting  are  not  obtain- 
able, but  such  figures  as  are  at  hand  prove  that  the  percen- 
tage of  women  who  register  is  larger  than  that  of  men.  But, 
returning  to  Denver,  the  election  commissioners  furnish  these 
figures,  taken  from  the  last  general  election: 

Free.  Ward.  Reg.  Voted.  Reg.         Voted. 

14  8  369  300  348  299 

7  10  176  141  203  176 

i  15  262  221  267  244 

« 

Total    807  662  818  719 

In  explanation,  Precinct  14,  Eighth  Ward,  is  a  well-to-do 
residence  district  with  a  large  percentage  of  professional  peo- 
ple; Precinct  7,  Tenth  Ward,  is  a  wealthy,  fashionable 
neighborhood,  and  Precinct  I,  Fifteenth  Ward,  is  an  average 
section  in  a  working-class  district.  So  it  may  be  seen  that 
women  of  all  classes  do  vote,  and  are  availing  themselves  of 
the  suffrage  right.  Statistics  compiled  for  the  last  ten  years 
show  that  from  thirty-two  to  forty-eight  per  cent  of  Colora- 
do's vote  is  cast  by  women — a  remarkable  record  when  it  is 
considered  that  women  constitute  forty-five  per  cent  of  the 
population. 


94  SELECTED   ARTICLES 

And,  another  item  of  interest  and  importance,  the  per- 
centage of  registration  to  voting  population  runs  higher  in 
Colorado  than  in  any  other  state.  Feminine  interest  in  public 
affairs  has  forced  a  keener  activity  on  the  part  of  men;  for 
what  head  of  the  family  would  let  his  women  folk  outdo  him 
in  something  that  has  long  been  considered  a  purely  mascu- 
line prerogative?  Colorado  even  proportionately  furnishes 
no  such  figures  as  Boston,  where  40,000  men  failed  to  vote 
at  one  election. 

There  has  always  been  outcry  against  the  "apathy  and 
indifference"  of  the  man  voter,  and  the  history  of  male  suf- 
frage is  thick  with  stupidities,  crimes  and  ignorances.  Why, 
then,  is  it  fair  to  demand  that  women  straightway  vote  in 
•enthusiasm,  with  superhuman  intelligence  and  unerring  hon- 
esty? And  yet,  even  though  the  most  rigid  test  be  applied, 
what  fair  man  can  deny  that  the  seventeen  years'  record  of 
equal  suffrage  in  Colorado  has  not  been  its  ample  justifica- 
tion? 

Under  male  suffrage  there  were  three  "dry"  towns  in  the 
State  of  Colorado.  Under  equal  suffrage  a  local-option  law 
was  put  on  the  statute  books,  and  there  are  now  fifty  "dry" 
towns  and  twelve  "dry"  counties.  And  it  may  also  be  men- 
tioned that  Denver  is  one  of  the  few  cities  in  the  land  that 
has  no  saloon-keepers  in  its  council. 

The  liquor  interests  hate  the  voting  woman  because  they 
can  not  fool  her  out  of  her  antagonism.  The  public  service 
corporations  fear  the  voting  woman  because  they  can  not 
"handle"  her.  And  who  so  blind  as  to  deny  the  political 
partnership  of  the  saloon  and  the  franchise-grabbing  cor- 
porations? These  corrupt  and  malign  ^influences  have  al- 
ways worked  together,  and  are  working  together  now  in  the 
desperate  endeavor  to  prevent  the  spread  of  equal  suffrage. 
The  gambler,  saloonkeeper,  macquereau  and  barrelhouse  boss 
— the  respectable  criminals  who  fatten  on  franchises  and  the 
exploitation  of  the  people — these  are  the  people  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  anti-suffrage  agitation!  They  constitute  the  sec- 
ret influence  that  is  inflaming  conservatism  and  traditional 
prejudices! 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  95 

The  honest  man  is  not  vicious  in  his  opposition  to  equal 
suffrage.  At  worst  it  is^  as  has  been  explained,  no  more 
than  a  matter  of  sex  antagonism  or  a  survival  of  the  feudel 
instinct.  Is  it  not  significant  that  no  reputable  Colorado 
man  has  yet  come  out  in  denunciation  of  equal  suffrage? 
Men  are  in  the  majority  in  Colorado,  and  surely,  if  the  Colo- 
rado man  is  opposed  to  the  law,  and  desires  its  repeal,  a  can- 
didate could  not  have  a  more  profitable  platform  than  the 
law's  abolition. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  equal  suffrage  was  practically  resub- 
mitted  in  1901,  when  people  voted  on  the  proposition  to 
strike  "male"  out  of  the  constitution  of  the  state.  Equal 
suffrage  has  had  an  eight  years'  trial,  and  benefits  were 
much  less  marked  than  now.  Yet  the  proposition  carried  by 
35,ooo. 

Discussion  of  equal  suffrage  in  other  states  may  be  gov- 
erned by  tradition  and  prejudice,  but  experience  and  practice 
have  made  the  Colorado  man  come  down  to  "brass  tacks." 
Some  may  still  retain  a  vague  antagonism,  but  not  one  but 
has  more  sense  than  to  advance  the  arguments  that  enjoy 
vogue  in  the  East. 

The  chief  conceded  faults  of  women  are  the  faults  of  a 
mind  that  has  been  cooped  up,  circumscribed  by  small 
household  activities.  The  Colorado  man  has  come  to  un- 
derstand that  the  broadening  influence  of  equal  suffrage 
remedies  these  faults,  and  works  for  their  elimination. 

It  is  claimed  that  woman  should  not  have  the  ballot  be- 
cause she  has  shown  unfitness  in  grappling  with  the  "serv- 
ant problem." 

In  Colorado  the  "servant  problem"  is  recognized  as  a 
"labor  problem,"  and  what  man  will  claim  that  male  votes 
have  solved  it?  President  Taft's  own  answer  to  the  request 
for  solution  was  "God  knows!" 

The  attainments  of  culture — these  "parlor  accomplish- 
ments" that  are  urged  upon  women — what  are  they,  in  the 
last  analysis,  but  self-adornment?  The  broadening  of  poli- 
tics is  different  from  the  broadening  of  culture,  for  the  one 
has  a  social  and  public  purpose,  and  the  other  is  personal 
and  selfish. 


96        f  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

The  Colorado  man  has  come  to  the  recognition  of  this 
truth,  and  knows  that  the  Colorado  woman  has  grown  in 
strength  and  effectiveness  without  loss  of  essential  womanli- 
ness or  sacrifice  of  valuable  traits. 


Woman's  Journal.  43:  120.  April  13,  1912. 

Answers  Queries  Concisely. 

The  following  are  a  few  queries  lately  addressed  by  a 
Texas  school  girl  to*  Ellis  Meredith  of  the  Denver  election 
commission,  together  with  her  answers.  As  they  are  que- 
ries which  have  to  be  answered  again  and  again  in  nearly  all 
the  states  where  the  women  do  not  vote,  The  Woman's  Jour- 
nal is  glad  to  publish  them. 

Q.  What  have  Colorado  women  and  the  women  in  the 
other  states  where  they  vote  accomplished? 

A.  It  would  take  a  book  to  answer.  Tracts  have  been 
printed  from  time  to  time  enumerating  legislative  enactments 
secured  by  the  women,  but  these  show  only  a  small  part 
of  what  they  have  accomplished.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in 
every  state  where  women  have  had  the  vote  over  at  least  one 
legislative  assembly,  they  have  modified,  changed,  amended 
or  enacted  laws  so  that  they  shall  better  protect  women  and 
children.  They  have  made  the  liquor  laws  more  stringent, 
and  increased  the  amount  of  "dry  territory." 

In  Idaho  they  have  passed  a  "search  and  seizure  law,"  to 
stop  boot-legging;  another  making  saloons  outside  of  an  in- 
corporated town  illegal,  and  a  third  requiring  the  would-be 
purchaser  in  a  drug  store  to  subscribe  to  an  oath  before 
liquor  can  be  supplied  him. 

In  Utah  they  passed  a  local  option  law  for  cities  and 
towns,  the  counties  to  be  "dry"  unless  voted  "wet." 

In  Colorado,  before  equal  suffrage,  there  were  about  ten 
so-called  "dry"  towns  in  the  state,  most  of  them  dry  be- 
cause the  sale  of  liquor  was  prohibited  by  their  charters. 
Now  there  are  twelve  counties  that  are  "dry"  territory,  and 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  97 

five  or  six  where  there  is  but  one  license.  A  militant  anti- 
suffragette  is  at  present  telling  the  world  that  Colorado  has 
24  times  as  many  saloons  as  Nevada.  The  truth  is  that, 
with  nine  and  a  half  times  the  population  of  Nevada,  Colo- 
rado has  only  three  times  as  many  saloons.  In  most  of  the 
smaller  towns  license  or  no  license  is  the  main  issue  in  the 
annual  elections,  and  the  number  of  dry  towns  has  increased 
to  about  75.  The  "drys"  hope  to  make  some  gains  at  the 
coming  April  election. 

Nearly,  if  not  all,  these  states  have  strict  legislation  re- 
garding the  sale  of  narcotics,  cigarettes  and  tobacco.  This 
kind  of  legislation  is  practically  always  the  result  of  the  work 
of  women,  but  where  they  do  not  have  the  vote,  they  find 
themselves  unable  to  secure  the  enforcement  of  laws;  in- 
deed, it  is  not  easy  to  do  this  even  with  the  ballot,  as  good 
men  have  long  ago  learned  to  their  sorrow. 

Washington,  Idaho  and  Colorado  have  pure  food  laws, 
and  regulations  providing  for  the  inspection  of  all  places 
where  food  is  kept. 

Utah  has  a  nine-hour  day  and  Washington  an  eight-hour 
day  for  women  employees;  Colorado  had  an  eight-hour  day. 
which  was  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court. 
Several  of  them,  including  Colorado,  have  laws  restricting 
the  hours  of  employment  of  children. 

In  Utah  and  Wyoming,  women  teachers  holding  the  same 
grade  certificate  receive  the  same  salary  as  men  in  similar 
positions.  Kindergartens,  manual  training,  instruction  in 
physiology  and  hygiene,  libraries  in  connection  with  schools. 
'  traveling  libraries,  compulsory  school  laws,  chairs  of  domes- 
tic economy  in  state  institutions,  the  medical  inspection  of 
school  children,  with  proper  treatment  for  defective  sight 
and  hearing,  removal  of  adenoids  and  the  care  of  the  teeth, 
are  among  the  changes  brought  about  by  the  votes  of  wom- 
en. 

Q.     Have  the  women  purified  politics? 
A.     In    some    respects.      Elections    are    conducted    much 
more    quietly;   there    is    rarely   any    disorder   at   the    polling 
places,    and    conventions    are    by   no   means    so    exciting   as 


98  SELECTED   ARTICLES 

formerly.  As  a  rule  the  nominees  are  better  morally,  but 
it  does  not  follow  that  they  are  always  more  efficient  than 
formerly. 

In  Colorado  the  women  succeeded  in  getting  the  emblems 
removed  from  the  ballots,  and  have  long  prosecuted  the  fight 
for  the  pure  Australian  ballot,  by  the  which  the  voter  must 
put  his  mark  opposite  each  candidate,  and  can  no  longer 
vote  a  straight  ticket  by  writing  a  party  name  at  the  top  of 
his  ballot.  Colorado  women  began  working  for  the  Initia- 
tive and  Referendum  20  years  ago,  when  most  of  the  men 
knew  little  about  it,  and  finally  secured  the  passage  of  this 
amendment  to  the  constitution  and  its  adoption  two  years 
ago.  Washington  women  also  won'  this  great  reform  for 
that  state.  The  Colorado  women  have  long  worked  for  a 
primary  law;  finally  one  has  been  passed,  and,  while  it  is 
not  all  they  desired,  still  it  is  felt  that  it  is  a  step  in  the 
right  direction.  The  recall  and  subsequent  defeat  of  Mayor 
Gill  of  Seattle  was  a  "reform  due  to  women." 

This,  however,  has  really  nothing  to  do  with  the  ques- 
tion of  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  Unless  men  were 
disfranchised,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  women  will  entirely 
change  the  political  atmosphere  in  a  few  elections.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  men  outnumber  the  women  in 
every  state  in  which  women  vote,  and  men  will  do  them- 
selves and  permit  others  to  do  things  in  a  campaign  that 
they  would  not  think  of  doing  at  any  other  time. 


Woman's  Journal.  43:  180.  June  8,  1912. 
Minnie  Bronson's  Fallacies.     Alice  S.  Blackwell. 

Anti-suffragists  are  circulating  a  pamphlet  by  Miss  Min- 
nie Bronson,  in  which  she  claims  that  the  chief  reason  why 
protective  legislation  for  the  working  woman  is  adopted  is 
because  she  lacks  the  ballot,  and  that  where  she  has  it,  "the 
inference  is  that  she  must  give  as  many  hours  of  toil  per 
day  as  man."  Miss  Bronson  affirms  also  that  the  suffrage 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  99 

states  are  behind  the  majority  of  non-suffrage  states  in  leg- 
islation for  working  women.  Let  us  dissect  this  audacious 
assertion. 

There  are  six  suffrage  states — California,  Washington, 
Colorado,  Utah,  Wyoming  and  Idaho.  California  and  Wash- 
ington have  eight-hour  laws  for  women.  Miss  Bronson  says 
that  these  were  enacted  "under  male  suffrage."  As  regards 
Washington,  this  statement  is  directly  contrary  to  fact.  Be- 
fore women  got  the  ballot,  the  advocates  of  shorter  hours  in 
Washington  had  tried  for  eight  years  to  secure  an  eight- 
hour  law  for  women  without  success.  After  equal  suffrage 
was  granted  the  Legislature  promptly  passed  the  bill. 

In  California,  the  eight-hour  law  was  passed  a  short  time 
before  the  ballot  was  granted;  but.  as  it  was  passed  by  the 
same  Legislature  which  also  passed  the  woman  suffrage 
amendment  to  the  state  constitution  by  a  vote  of  33  to  5  in 
the  Senate  and  65  to  12  in  the  Assembly,  it  certainly  does 
not  bear  out  Miss  Bronson's  claim  that  such  legislation  for 
the  working  woman  is  adopted  "albove  all  because  she  is  not 
herself  a  law-maker." 

Colorado  passed  an  eight-hour  law  for  women  in  1903,  but 
in  1907  it  was  thrown  out  by  the  State  Supreme  Court  as 
unconstitutional.  In  the  last  Colorado  Legislature,  a  more 
comprehensive  eight-hour  law  for  women  passed  the  lower 
house  with  only  one  dissenting  vote,  but  was  blocked  in  the  • 
Senate,  like  almost  all  other  legislation  in  that  year,  by  the 
deadlock  over  the  U.  S.  Senatorship. 

Utah  adopted  a  nine-hour  law  for  women  in  1911.  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  M.  Cohen  of  Salt  Lake  City,  chairman  of  the  In- 
dustrial committee  of  the  State  federation  of  women's  clubs. 
told  in  The  Woman's  Journal  of  May  27,  1911,  how  the  pas- 
sage of  the  bill  was  secured.  It  was  backed  by  women's 
organizations  with  an  aggregate  membership  of  50,000.  Mrs. 
Cohen  says: 

"The  large  number  of  women  represented  was  both  in- 
spiring and  appalling — inspiring  the  women's  committee  to 
give  the  best  t"hat  was  in  them,  and  appalling  to  the  legisla- 
tor who  would  like  to  be  re-elected  two  years  hence,  and 


ioo  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

realized  that  50,000  votes  stood  back  of  that  representation. 
His  discomfiture  was  increased  by  the  knowledge  that  some 
of  his  constituents,  who  were  identified  with  corporations 
and  special  interests,  would  demand  an  accounting.  The 
power  of  50,000  votes  prevailed.  ...  If  women  had  not 
had  the  vote  we  should  not  have  succeeded." 

Idaho  and  Wyoming  as  yet  lack  laws  for  the  protection  of 
women  in  industry  because  they  have  so  few  women  en- 
gaged in  industry  outside  their  homes.  In  answer  to  a 
complaint  from  an  Eastern  anti-suffragist  that  Idaho  had  no 
law  limiting  factory  hours  for  women,  Mrs.  Eva  Hunt  Dock- 
ery,  for  ten  years  a  member  of  the  Legislative  committee  of 
the  State  federation  of  women's  clubs,  wrote  in  The  Wom- 
an's Journal  of  Dec.  17,  1910:  "Idaho  has  no  factories  where 
women  are  employed,  so  the  need  of  this  law  has  not  been 
felt.  Up  to  a  very  few  years  ago  there  was  not  a  depart- 
ment store  in  the  state,  and  the  clerks  in  the  stores  were 
treated  as  they  were  in  the  good  old  days  in  the  East,  like 
members  of  the  family."  The  census  of  1900  showed  only 
59  women  in  Idaho  engaged  in  factory  work,  and  only  47 
in  Wyoming,  as  against  126.093  in  Pennsylvania,  143,109  in 
Massachusetts,  and  230,181  in  New  York. 

Anti-suffragists  often  charge  that  the  tendency  of  woman 
suffrage  will  be  to  take  women  out  of  the  home  and  put  them 
into  industry.  As  it  happens,  all  the  states  in  which  enor- 
mous numbers  of  women  are  working  for  wages  outside 
their  homes  are  non-suffrage  states.  The  need  of  protective 
legislation  for  working  women,  therefore,  has  not  been  nearly 
so  urgent  in  the  suffrage  states  as  elsewhere;  yet  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  the  suffrage  states  have  passed  eight  or 
nine-hour  laws  for  women  than  of  the  non-suffrage  states. 

They  have  also  done  it  with  more  ease.  Massachusetts 
has  just  secured  a  54-hour  a  week  law  as  the  culmination  of 
about  40  years  of  effort  for  improved  conditions  for  working 
women.  The  Utah  women  got  the  nine-hour  law  from  the 
first  Legislature  from  which  they  asked  it. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  i&t 

Woman's  Journal.  43:  117.  April  13,  1912. 

Suffrage  Fills  the  Bill. 

The  discussion  of  woman  suffrage  by  the  Ohio  Fourth 
Constitutional  Convention  called  forth  the  following  expres- 
sions from  the  Governors  of  five  suffrage  states: 


Denver,  Colo..  Feb.  19,  1912. 

I  am  glad  that  Ohio  is  contemplating  adopting  a  consti- 
tution which  will  give  equal  suffrage  to  women.  It  has 
been  a  great  success  in  Colorado;  women  always  will  be 
found  upon  the  moral  side  of  every  question.  It  cannot  be 
that  our  mothers,  sisters  and  wives  would  have  anything  but 
an  elevating  influence  on  government. 

John  F.  Shafroth,  Governor. 

Boise,  Idaho,  Feb.  21,  1912. 

Am  gratified  to  learn  through  press  reports  that  Consti- 
tutional Convention  will  submit  woman  suffrage  to  vote  of 
people  of  Ohio,  and  feel  certain  the  Buckeye  State  will  fol- 
low her  progressive  sister  commonwealths  in  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  her  women.  All  Idaho  wishes  your  cause  success, 
as  experience  here  has  justified  its  wisdom. 

James  Hawley,  Governor. 

Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  March  I,  1912. 

In  this  state  for  many  years  women  have  had  the  right 
to  vote  and  hold  office.  I  have  watched  the  operation  of  the 
law  conferring  these  rights  upon  women  with  a  great  deal 
of  interest,  and  I  have  been  unable  to  see  any  disadvantages 
or  an}'  objection  that  could  be  raised  against  it.  We  have 
never  had  any  militant  suffragists  in  this  state.  Women  ex- 
ercises her  rights  to  vote  and  hold  office  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

We  are  a  new  state;  in  a  certain  sense  a  frontier  state. 
I  am  satisfied  that  women's  influence  in  political  matters 
has  been  good.  I  know  it  has  been  a  great  advantage  to 


SOS    <  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

woman,  as  girls  in  school  and  in  young  womanhood  make 
preparation  to  hold  positions  of  responsibility  in  civil  as  well 
as  in  official  life.  Not  two  per  cent  of  the  voters  would  de- 
prive woman  of  her  rights  in  this  state. 

I  think  that  woman  has  as  many  inherent  rights  in  a 
political  way  as  man  has,  and  she  is  as  fully  competent  to 
exercise  those  rights.  There  is  scarcely  a  man  who  is  de- 
prived of  the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office.  In  this  state 
about  the  only  restrictions  upon  those  who  have  reached 
their  majority  and  are  citizens,  are  such  as  inability  to  read 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  being  a  convict  or  in- 
sane. The  same  restrictions,  and  only  the  same,  apply  to 
men  and  women  alike. 

Within  the  last  few  years  I  have  been  more  strongly  im- 
pressed that  it  is  right  that  women  should  vote  and  hold 
office,  because  of  the  fact  that  many  women  have  come  into 
very  important  and  responsible  positions. 

Joseph  M.  Carey,  Governor. 

Olympia,  Wash.,  Feb.  20,  1912. 

During  the  short  time  woman  suffrage  has  been  in  effect 
in  this  state,  a  profound  interest  has  been  manifested  among 
all  women  in  the  study  of  civic  questions  and  the  promotion 
of  legislation  and  projects  designed  to  advance  the  best  in- 
terest of  the  people  of  the  state.  They  are  taking  their 
responsibility  seriously  and  providing  a  powerful  agency 
of  progress.  M.  E.  Hay,  Governor. 

Sacramento,  Cal. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  to  say  that  since  the  adoption  of 
the  Equal  Suffrage  Amendment  in  California,  three  important 
city  elections  have  been  held.  One  of  these  city  elections, 
that  at  Los  Angeles,  was  the  most  exciting  and  most  bitter- 
ly contested  ever  held  in  this  state,  and,  it  was  believed, 
fraught  with  the  gravest  consequences  to  that  community. 
In  these  elections,  the  first  test  of  equal  suffrage  with  us, 
the  women  of  California  acquitted  themselves  with  firmness, 
courage,  ability,  and  with  the  very  highest  intelligence.  If 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  103 

these  elections  are  a  fair  indication  of  the  practical  working 
of  equal  suffrage.  California  will  never  regret  the  adoption 
of  the  amendment.  Hiram  W.  Johnson,  Governor. 

Ministers  On  Votes  for  Women. 

Alice  S.  Blackwell. 

Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  a  short  time  before  her  death, 
sent  a  circular  letter,  asking  whether  the  results  of  equal 
suffrage  were  good  or  bad,  to  all  the  Episcopal  clergymen, 
and  to  the  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  Methodist  and 
Baptist  ministers  in  the  suffrage  states;  to  all  the  Congrega- 
tional Sunday  school  superintendents  (the  other  denomina- 
tions do  not  publish  the  names  of  the  superintendents  in 
their  religious  year-books),  and  to  the  editors  of  the  news- 
papers. In  all,  624  answers  were  received.  Of  these,  62 
were  opposed,  46  in  doubt,  and  516  in  favor. 

The  replies  from  the  Episcopal  clergymen  were  favorable, 
more  than  two  to  one;,  those  of  the  Baptist  ministers,  seven 
to  one;  those  of  the  Congregational  ministers,  about  eight  to 
one;  of  the  Methodists,  more  than  ten  to  one,  and  of  the 
Presbyterians,  more  than  eleven  to  one. 

Of  the  Sunday  school  superintendents,  one  was  opposed 
and  one  in  doubt;  all  the  rest  were  favorable. 

The  editors  expressed  themselves  in  favor,  more  than 
eight  to  one. 

The  ministers  and  editors  are  practically  unanimous  in 
saying  that  equal  suffrage  has  made  women  more  intelligent 
companions  for  their  husbands  and  better  able  to  instruct 
their  children.  Almost  all  are  agreed  that  it  has  broadened 
women's  minds  and  led  them  to  take  more  interest  in  public 
questions.  A  large  number  say  that  it  has  helped  to  obtain 
liberal  appropriations  for  school  purposes  and  for  humani- 
tarian objects,  and  has  made  it  harder  for  notoriously  cor- 
rupt candidates  to  be  nominated  or  elected;  that  equal  suf- 
frage does  not  lead  to  divorces,  and  that  women  enjoy  in- 
creased influence  because  of  having  the  ballot.  Most  of  the 


104  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

ministers  emphatically  deny  that  immoral  women  control  the 
elections. 

The  testimony  is  practically  the  same  from  all  four  states 
and  from  all  parts  of  those  states. 


Family  Suffrage  in  New  Zealand. 

Hon.  Hugh  H.  Lusk,  an  ex-member  of  the  New  Zealand 
Parliament,  traveling  in  America  for  his  health,  spoke  as 
follows  in  an  address  at  the  May  festival  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Woman  suffrage  association: 

"Up  to  1877,  we  had  no  idea  of  giving  woman  suffrage  in 
New  Zealand. 

"It  was  done,  not  by  argument,  but  by  experiment.  I 
had  a  .little  to  do  with  the  first  experiment,  which  was  the 
extension  of  suffrage  to  a  small  class  of  women. 

"By  the  Education  act  of  1877,  the  householders  of  each 
district  were  empowered  to  elect  a  committee  of  seven  of 
their  number  to  have  charge  of  the  schools  of  the  district. 
I  had  much  to  do  with  this  act.  While  the  bill  was  in  com- 
mittee, another  member  suggested  to  me  that  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  leave  out  the  word  'male'  before  'householder.' 

"I  saw  no  objection  and  moved  it.  This  was  the  first 
thin  end  of  the  big  wedge  by  which  full  suffrage  has  been 
given  to  all  the  women  in  New  Zealand. 

"The  women  got  the  school  vote,  and  used  it.  They  did 
not  say,  'Oh  dear,  no,  it  wouldn't  be  proper!'  They  went  to 
the  polls  and  voted  for  the  best  men.  They  took  so  much 
interest  that  at  the  next  election  some  women  were  elected 
to  the  school  boards,  and  they  showed  so  much  aptitude  for 
this  sort  of  work  that  when,  in  1882,  the  license  question 
came  up,  it  was  proposed  that  women  ratepayers,  as  well  as 
men  ratepayers,  should  help  choose  the  board  of  commis- 
sioners in  each  district  who  control  the  issuing  of  licenses. 

"This  met  with  great  objection.  We  were  told  that  now 
indeed  we  should  utterly  destroy  the  character  of  the  ladies, 
for  all  the.  worst  elements  would  be  brought  in  contact  with 
them,  and  would  make  things  very  unpleasant  for  them.  We 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  105 

said,  'we  don't  believe  the  men  of  New  Zealand  are  as  bad 
as  you  think,  and,  if  they  are,  they  are  not  to  be  trusted  to 
vote  alone  for  these  boards  of  license  commissioners.'  The 
women  were  given  the  license  to  vote.  To  the  surprise  and 
disappointment  of  their  opponents,  they  voted  well,  and  met 
with  no  trouble,  and  certainly  they  greatly  improved  the 
licensing  boards. 

"Then  we  felt  that  we  could  go  a  little  further,  and  gave 
the  women  the  right  to  vote  at  municipal  elections  and  to 
serve  on  municipal  boards.  I  know  one  woman  who  acted 
for  two  years  as  mayor  (not  mayoress)  of  a  very  prosperous 
little  town,  and  did  as  well  as  any  mayor  could  have  done. 

"I  have  always  said  what  I  thought,  and  in  some  cases 
have  said  it  till  I  was  in  danger  of  being  pelted  off  the 
platform.  This  is  one  minor  reason  why  I  believe  in  wom- 
an suffrage.  No  one  is  pelted  now. 

"Women  attend  all  the  political  meetings,  and  it  has 
done  an  immense  deal  of  good.  When  men  congregate  by 
themselves,  they  get  excited  and  sometimes  misbehave. 
Women,  perhaps,  do  the  same.  It  is  not  good  for  women, 
either,  to  be  alone. 

"It  seemed  queer  at  first  to  find  half  the  benches  at  a 
political  meeting  occupied  by  ladies;  but  when  the  men  have 
got  accustomed  to  it,  they  do  not  like  the  other  thrhg. 

"When  they  found  that  they  could  take  their  wives  and 
daughters  ,to  these  meetings,  and  afterwards  take  them  home 
and  talk  about  it,  it  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  for  the 
family,  a  life  of  ideas  and  interest  in  common, ,  and  a  unison 
of  thought. 

"The  influence  of  equal  suffrage  has  been  rather  against 
the  milliners  and  dressmakers;  there  is  not  so  much  time  for 
criticizing  one's  neighbors'  bonnets  and  cloaks.  Gossip  can- 
not be  cured  in  any  way  so  well  as  by  taking  an  interest  in 
public  affairs. 

"The  family  is  the  foundation  of  the  state.  We  find 
that  equal  suffrage  is  the  greatest  family  bond  and  tie,  the 
greatest  strengthener  of  family  life.  Under  equal  suffrage, 
the  family  is  taking  the  place  of  the  individual.  People  are 


106  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

coming"  to  vote  as  families.  The  persons  whom  they  ap- 
prove when  they  talk  them  over  in  the  family  are  those 
whom  they  vote  for  when  they  go  to  the  polls. 

"The  members  of  a  family  generally  vote  alike,  though 
it  is  impossible  to  swear  to  this,  as  the  ballot  is  absolutely, 
secret.  But  we  see  in  it  the  changed  character  of  the  men 
who  are  elected.  The  men  who  are  successful  now  are  not 
just  the  same  sort  that  were  successful  before.  Character  is 
more  regarded  than  cleverness.  It  is  asked  about  every  can- 
didate, 'Has  he  a  good  record?  Is  he  above  suspicion,  an 
honorable  man.  a  useful  citizen,  pure  of  any  suspicion  of 
complicity  with  corrupt  politics?'  That  is  the  man  who, 
under  the  combined  suffrage  of  men  and  women,  gets  the 
largest  number  of  votes  and  is  elected.  This  is  the  greatest 
benefit  that  comes  from  suffrage. 

"I  do  not  deify  suffrage.  There  might  be  a  state  of  things 
in  which  universal  suffrage  would  become  the  worst  of 
tyrannies;  but  with  both  men  and  women  voting,  there  is 
little  danger  of  this.  I  see  in  New  York  the  grievous  results 
of  half-universal  suffrage;  but  I  believe  these  would  be 
swept  away  by  the  other  half." 


Woman's  Journal.  43:  179.  June  8,  1912. 
Suffrage  Helps  Homes. 

"Women  in  Australian  Politics"  is  the  title  of  a  very  in- 
teresting article  by  Theresa  Hirschl  Russell  in  the  Coming 
Nation  of  May  25.  The  author  has  lately  visited  the  antip- 
odes, and  made  many  interesting  observations.  She  says, 
in  part: 

"It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  the  United  States  today  argu- 
ments for  and  against  woman's  enfranchisement  still  partake 
so  largely  of  generalities  of  sentiment  and  of  what  Mark 
Twain  calls  the  'easy  form  of  prophecy.'  While  we  are  still 
engaged  in  this  conflict  of  abstractions,  two  English-speaking 
countries,  remote  from  us  in  miles,  but  not  in  civilization, 
might  furnish  the  practical  demonstration  of  experience. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  107 

A   Settled   Question 

"In  Australia  and  New  Zealand  theorizing  about  woman's 
suffrage  is  extinct  as  the  dodo.  In  these  countries  every- 
body knows  the  practical  results  and  can  hardly  believe  that 
the  rest  of  the  world  is  unaware  of  them.  'A  woman's  place 
is  the  home'  or  'unsexing  womankind,'  as  the  subject  of  an 
argument  against  woman's  suffrage,  would  awaken  in  the 
average  Australian  or  New  Zealander  today  as  much  amaze- 
ment as  a  discussion  of  the  propriety  of  a  woman's  appear- 
ing in  public  with  unveiled  features." 

Mrs.  Russell  found  that  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand, 
as  elsewhere,  women  are  divided  into  progressives  and  con- 
servatives; but  the  progressives  were  the  more  numerous. 
She  says: 

"Contrary  to  prediction,  in  Australasia  women  are  prov- 
ing to  be  as  an  electorate  more  radical  than  men.  They  are 
on  the  whole  less  bound  by  tradition  and  the  sacred,  rights  of 
property  when  these  conflict  with  human  rights,  less  ready 
to  continue  to  tolerate  oppression  and  injustice  merely  be- 
cause they  have  become  sanctioned  by  the  ages. 

Women  Fight  Injustice 

"While  the  female  electorate  can  scarcely  in  any  case  be 
said  to  vote  as  a  unit,  they  have  undoubtedly  been  largely 
instrumental  in  both  Australia  and  New  Zealand  in  the  pass- 
ing of  various  acts  protecting  women  and  children  and  look- 
ing to  the  removal  of  those  sex  disabilities  under  whose  in- 
justice, through  the  inheritance  of  barbarous  English  laws, 
the  sex  has  labored  for  centuries. 

"The  majority  of  them  have  supported  also  the  various 
progressive  and  humanitarian  measures  initiated  by  the  labor 
government,  such  as  workingmen's  compensation,  old-age 
pensions,  the  minimum  wage  law  and  other  measures  better- 
ing the  hard  conditions  of  labor  in  mines  and  factories,  in 
respect  to  which  these  antipodal  countries  have  advanced 
beyond  other  nations,  and  far  beyond  the  United  States." 


io8  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Australian   Parliament    Testifies 

Mrs.  Russell  quotes  the  resolution  passed  in  1910  by  the 
National  Parliament  of  the  Federated  Australia: 

(1)  That  the  extension  of  the  suffrage  to  the  women  of 
Australia  for  state  and  commonwealth  Parliaments  has  had 
the  most  beneficial  results.     It  has  led  to  the  more  orderly 
conduct   of  elections,  and   at  the   last   federal   elections  the 
women's  vote  in  a  majority  of  the  states  showed  a  greater 
proportionate  increase  than  that  cast  by  men.     It  has  given 
a    greater    prominence    to    legislation    particularly    affecting 
women  and  children,  although  the  women  have  not  taken  up 
such  questions  to  the  exclusion  of  others  of  wider  signifi- 
cance.    In    matters    of   defence    and    imperial    concern    they 
have  proved  themselves  as   discriminating  and  farseeing  as 
men.     Because   the    reform   has   brought   nothing   but   good, 
though  disaster  was  freely  prophesied,  we  respectfully  urge 
that  all  nations  enjoying  representative  government  would  be 
well  advised  in  granting  votes  to  women. 

(2)  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  cabled  to 
the  British  Prime  Minister. 

This  passed  the  lower  house  unanimously,  and  the  Senate 
with  only  four  dissenting  votes.  The  four  Senators  said 
nothing  against  woman  suffrage  per  se,  but  urge4  that  it 
was  not  becoming  for  a  young  country  like  Australia  to 
give  the  mother  country  advice.  Senator  de  Largie  replied: 
"We  have  experience  of  woman  suffrage.  In  this  respect 
being  politically  older  than  the  mother  country,  we  have  the 
right  to  proffer  her  advice." 

Woman  Healthier  and  Brighter 

Mrs.  Russell  found  the  man  in  the  street  to  be  of  the 
same  opinion:  , 

"The  average  man  in  Australia,  asked  his  opinion  on  the 
subject,  gives  testimony  that  is  at  least  a  pleasing  departure 
from  the  time-worn  theme  of  'neglect  of  home  duties'  with 
which  we  in  this  country  are  still  being  edified,  a  reproach 
for  some  reason  not  applied  to  time  spent  at  bridge  or  the 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  109 

matinee>  but  reserved  for  any  expression  of  interest  on  a 
woman's  part  in  her  country's  welfare.  The  general  testimony 
of  Mr.  Australian  Male  Citizen  is  that,  since  his  wife  has 
taken  an  interest  in  politics,  she  has  enjoyed  better  health 
and  brighter  spirits,  and.  instead  of  coming  home  to  a  chroni- 
cle of  domestic  grievances,  he  now  finds  a  woman  interested 
in  current  events  and  ready  to  discuss  with  him  the  general 
questions  of  the  day." 


National  Geographic  Magazine.  21:  487-93.  June,  1910. 
Where  Women  Vote.     Alletta   Korff. 

Before  the  suffrage  was  granted  to  women  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  requests  made  by  them  for  the  investigation  of 
the  conditions  of  life  among  women  workers — for  example, 
women  factory-workers — were  treated  with  polite  indiffer- 
ence; now  that  women  have  the  vote,  all  of  their  official 
requests  receive  serious  consideration.  Two  women  factory 
inspectors  have  been  appointed,  and  a  special  appropriation 
has  been  made  for  the  work  of  an  investigating  committee. 

No  one  who  followed  the  heated  debates  aroused  by  the 
bills  concerning  the  "Married  woman's  property  act,"  the 
"Extension  of  the  mothers'  rights  over  their  children,"  and 
the  "Abolition  of  the  husband's  guardianship  over  his  wife." 
can  doubt  the  practical  advantage  that  women  have  gained' 
by  having  women  representatives  in  Parliament.  An  article 
which  appeared  in  the  Jus  Suffragii  while  the  bills  were 
pending  says:  "The  women  members  of  the  Law  committee, 
to  which  the  bills  are  referred,  have  had  to  stand  a  hard 
fight.  The  men  members  in  the  committee,  of  all  parties, 
whether  bourgeois  or  Social  Democrat,  held  that  only  the 
'women's-rights  women*  urged  the  revision  of  the  marriage 
laws,  and  the  rest  of  woman  kind  was  content  with  the 
status  quo.  When  this  became  known,  protests  came  from 
all  sides.  Women  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  sent  signed 
petitions  to  some  of  the  women  members  of  Parliament 
urging  the  revision  of  the  marriage  laws,  and  most  of  the 


no  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

women's  associations  took  up  the  question  and  passed  reso- 
lutions giving  moral  support  to  the  women  members,  and 
urging  the  points  in  the  bills  upon  the  marriage  question." 

Moreover,  the  possession  of  the  franchise  has  been  of 
practical  use  to  women,  not  only  by  giving  them  the  possi- 
bility of  improving  the  conditions  of  their  work  and  extend- 
ing their  legal  rights,  but  also  by  helping  them  directly  to 
better  their  economic  position.  Not  long  ago  a  test  case 
was  brought  up  by  a  woman  teacher  in  one  of  the  high 
schools,  who  claimed  that  as  she  was  doing  the  same  work 
as  the  men  teachers  and  had  passed  the  same  examination, 
she  should  be  given  the  same  salary.  After  a  short  discus- 
sion her  request  was  granted,  whereas  similar  requests  made 
before  women  had  the  franchise  had  not  been  granted. 

Schools     to     Teach    Girls     to     Become    Efficient      Wives    and 

Mothers 

But  as  might  be  expected,  the  chief  interest  of  the  women 
has  been  to  improve  the  condition  of  children.  Over  50  per 
cent  of  the  bills  introduced  into  the  three  successive  Diets 
have  concerned  the  welfare  of  children.  Many  have  been 
for  rendering  medical  aid  to  poor  women  throughout  the 
country  districts,  and  for  instructing  them  in  the  proper 
methods  of  caring  for  infants;  many  have  treated  of  the 
improvement  and  extension  of  the  public-school  system  and 
the  care  of  school  children;  still  others  have  dealt  with 
special  classess  of  children,  orphans,  waifs,  and  juvenile  de- 
linquents. 

Now  that  the  system  of  home  instruction  and  private 
tutoring  have  passed  perhaps  forever — practically  all  children 
of  nine  or  ten  are  sent  to  schools,  and  a  large  number  of 
them  to  public  schools — it  seems  only  natural  that  women 
should  take  a  tolerably  intelligent  interest  in  the  manage- 
ment and  direction  of  those  schools  and  the  state  or  munici- 
pal laws  which  govern  them.  When,  too,  in  these  days  of 
democracy,  the  great  majority  of  boys  and  a  large  number 
of  girls  also  must  look  forward  to  earning  their  own  living, 
it  is  only  to  be  expected  that  women  should  feel  the  vital 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  in 

importance  of  investigating  and,  if  possible,  ameliorating  the 
conditions  of  industrial  life. 

One  of  the  noteworthy  reforms  undertaken  by  the  women 
has  been  the  establishment  of  schools  of  domestic  training 
throughout  the  country — schools  intended  to  teach  young 
girls  to  become  efficient  and  capable  wives  and  mothers. 
These  schools  are  of  great  importance,  especially  in  the 
country  districts  and  among  the  poorer  class  of  people. 
They  are  becoming  most  valuable  factors  in  the  cultured  de- 
velopment of  the  country,  and  are  doing  more  than  could 
perhaps  be  done  in  any  other  way  to  raise  the  general  stand- 
ards of  living. 

Thus  the  women  have  succeeded  in  materially  bettering 
their  own  position;  but  they  have  done  much  more,  for  they 
have  also  carried  through  reforms  of  wide-reaching  import- 
ance to  the  moral  and  social  life  of  the  whole  community. 
A  striking  proof  of  this  may  be  shown  by  the  fact  that  in' 
the  church  synod  held  in  1908  it  was  decided  to  grant  women 
the  elective  suffrage  for  sundry  church  offices. 

This  motion  was  brought  before  one  of  the  most  con- 
servative bodies  in  the  country  by  a  member  of  the  synod 
who  had  previously  been  opposed  to  granting  the  political 
suffrage  to  women,  and  who  introduced  the  motion  of  his 
own  accord,  saying  that  since  the  women  had  proved  them- 
selves such  efficient  social  and  political  workers,  he  felt  that 
it  would  be  an  advantage  to  the  church  if  they  should  be 
made  eligible  to  many  church  offices. 

The  experience  of  three  years  of  woman  suffrage  in  Fin- 
land has  proved,  I  think,  beyond  doubt  that  the  emancipa- 
tion of  women  is  not  a  thing  to  be  feared  or  dreaded,  but 
merely  a  natural  step  in  the  evolution  of  modern  society. 

When  the  suffrage  was  extended  to  the  women  they 
responded  with  interest  and  enthusiasm,  and  have  shown 
themselves  capable  of  serving  on  all  the  various  legislative 
committees.  They  have  not  disturbed  the  political  balance 
of  power,  but  have  maintained  it  precisely  as  before,  uniting 
as  women  only  for  the  furtherance  of  social  and  legal  re- 
forms of  importance  to  women,  but  also  of  very  vital  im- 


112  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

portance  to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  community  at 
large. 

Families  have  not  been  broken  up  by  the  woman's  vote; 
rather  have  they  tended  to  become  more  united  by  a  strong 
bond  of  common  interest.  Instead  of  lessening  the  interest 
that  women  have  in  the  education  and  the  welfare  of  their 
children,  the  suffrage  has  greatly  intensified  that  interest  by 
making  it  possible  for  them  to  regulate  and,  in  some  degree 
at  least,  to  improve  the  schools  to  which  their  children  are 
sent  and  the  different  branches  of  work  which  they  later 
undertake. 

Experience  has  shown,  too,  that  when  the  doors  are 
opened,  not  all  women  rush  madly  into  political  life,  but 
only  those  who  are  specially  qualified  for  it;  that  for  the 
vast  majority  of  women  the  duties  of  the  franchise  consist  in 
little  more  than  casting  their  ballots,  and  that  even  the 
women  who  participate  actively  in  political  life  devote  no 
more  time  to  it  than  they  devoted  previously  to  their  extra 
domestic  occupations  or  professions — that  is,  that  even  the 
small  number  of  women  who  actually  sit  in  Parliament 
need  not  neglect  their  homes  unduly.  But  last  and  most 
important  of  all,  it  has  shown  that  the  cause  that  women 
have  most  at  heart  is  the  care  and  welfare  of  children. 


NEGATIVE  DISCUSSION 

Forum.  43:  495-504.  May,  igio. 

Some  Facts  About  Suffrage  and  Anti-Suffrage. 
Mrs.  Gilbert  E.  Jones. 

What  is  wanted  in  politics  is  real  work,  thorough  work, 
honest  and  more  efficient  work,  not  mere  sham.  Are  women 
ready  for  better  work,  than  men  are  now  doing?  Hardly, 
and  women  will  find  it  no  easy  task  to  do  sufficiently  well 
to  outstrip  the  best  class  of  political  workers.  The  man  is 
in  constant  contact  with  men,  and  face  to  face  with  events. 
He  is  in  the  larger  world;  he  is  everywhere,  and  he  has  be- 
come familiar  with  the  workings  of  the  political  machinery. 
Woman  will  always  take  observation  from  some  protected 
quarter.  She  will  generally  obtain  such  fragments  of  legis- 
lation and  activities,  as  appear  on  the  surface.  But  of  the 
vital,  fighting  political  struggle  which  constantly  goes  on, 
and  not  generally  in  public  view,  the  woman  necessarily  will 
learn  what  she  knows  only  by  hearsay  or  from  some  male 
informer.  Women  are  not  concerned  equally  with  men  in 
the  character  of  government,  and  they  very  rarely  have  an 
equal  knowledge  of  political  events,  even  when  their  fathers, 
husbands  and  brothers  are  statesmen  or  politicians. 

Woman  suffragists  proclaim  that  women  need  the  ballot 
for  their  own  protection, — and  that  men  make  laws  for  wom- 
en which  are  unjust  and  oppressive,  and  that  women  must 
have  the  law-making  power  in  their  own  hands  in  order  to 
secure  fair  play.  American  women  do  not  need  a  law-mak- 
ing power, — for  on  the  whole,  the  laws  are  even  far  more 
favorable  to  women  (in  many  states)  than  they  would  have 
been  if  women,  with  their  smaller  understanding  of  vital 
conditions,  had  made  the  laws  for  themselves. 


1 14  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Have  we  come  to  the  point  when  women  must  defend 
themselves  against  men  or  women?  One  man  is  generally 
stronger  than  one  woman !  And  do  women  propose  to  fight 
laws  into  existence  to  protect  them?  The  voting  power  is 
based  on  force.  The  rule  of  the  majority  is  at  the  bottom 
the  rule  of  force.  Sixty  thousand  voters  yield  to  a  hundred 
thousand  voters,  not  because  they  believe  them  to  be  wiser 
than  themselves,  but  because  they  know  them  to  be  stronger. 
When  they  do  not  believe  them  to  be  stronger,  they  do  not 
yield,  they  resist,  and  we  have  a  rebellion.  Women  who 
ask  for  the  ballot  do  not  know  the  real  meaning  and  sig- 
nificance of  universal  manhood  suffrage,  or  they  would  never 
use  the  term  "equal  suffrage." 

Constitutional  government  is  not  a  haphazard;  unformed, 
shapeless  institution,  as  many  women  seem  to  think.  It 
has  distinct  form,  established  restrictions,  and  a  very  valid 
reason  for  not  asking  woman  to  have  a  voice  in  government. 

A  republic  vests  the  power  of  the  government  in  the  will 
of  the  people.  But  if  that  power  rests  in  a  portion  of  the 
people  that  cannot  sustain  their  will, — if  the  voting  power  is 
•in  the  hands  of  an  aristocracy  or  a  favored  class,  that  can- 
not uphold  or  retain  that  power  unto  themselves — then  we 
are  entertaining  a  false  state  of  affairs,  which  is  contrary  to 
the  fundamental  principles  of  our  constitutional  govern- 
ment. 

All  voting  at  the  polls  must  ultimately  feel  the  pulse  of  a 
national  and  vital  force  back  of  it,  and  women  can'not  be  that 
force.  Men  not  only  can,  but  must  be  that,  if  they  accept  the 
privileges  of  the  franchise.  Their  allegiance  to  the  state  is  a 
guarantee  for  its  safety,  its  stability,  and  its  maintenance  in 
time  of  war  and  of  peace. 

The  reason  why  men  vote  in  this  country  is  because  they 
can  be  made  liable  for  the  continuance  of  law  and  order,  and 
'can  be  called  upon  for  state  duty  and  service.  Uncle  Sam 
permits  a  full-grown  man  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  to 
be  a  voter,  with  only  a  few  qaulifications  such  as  age,  place 
of  residence,  etc.  Women  are  within  the  age  and  residence 
qualifications,  and  they  offer  morality,  intelligence  and  tax- 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  115 

paying  qualifications  besides.  Government,  however,  does 
not  impose  these  qualifications  on  men,  and  men  do  not  vote 
because  they  are  moral,  intelligent,  or  taxpayers  only.  Gov- 
ernment asks  the  man  to  accept  the  responsibility  of  main- 
taining it,  of  preserving  its'  very  existence.  Man  forms  the 
ONLY  basis  on  which  any  government  can  rest.  In  a  de- 
mocracy this  is,  and  must  be,  the  keynote  of  the  whole  struc- 
ture. The  man  is  the  rock  on  which  the  government  is 
built,  whatever  its  form..  The  woman  never  was  and  never 
will  be.  Giving  the  man  the  vote  is  nothing  more  than  a 
recognition  of  this  fact.  Giving  women  the  vote  would  be 
to  deny  it. 

Citizenship  is  a  granted  right,  not  a  natural  one,  derived 
and  regulated  by  each  country  or  state  according  to  its 
ideas  of  government  The  argument  of  the  suffragist  that 
a  voter  and  a  citizen  should  be  one  and  the  same  is  incorrect. 
Citizens  can  be  and  have  been  disfranchised,  but  can  still 
remain  citizens  and  have  all  of  a  citizen's  privileges. 

Chief  Justice  Waite  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
decided  that  citizenship  carried  with  it  no  voting  power  or 
right,  and  the  same  decision  has  been  handed  down  by  many 
courts  in  disposing  of  other  test  cases.  A  citizen  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  has  all  the  privileges  of  citizenship, 
but  he  cannot  vote,  since  that  is  a  state  right  and  the  District 
of  Columbia  is  not  a  state. 

Citizenship  merely,  does  not  entitle  a  man  to  vote.  Gov- 
ernment grants  that  privilege  and  enrolls  on  its  lists  of  voters 
those  who  must  be  made  liable  for  the  state's  safety  and 
stability.  Government  does  not  let  a  man  vote  just  to  ex- 
press his  viewpoints  by  dropping  a  bit  of  paper  in  the  ballot 
box.  It  demands  the  service  and  allegiance  of  a  voter  to 
the  point  of  giving  his  life,  as  500,000  men  did  during  the 
civil  war. 

Men  and  women  could  not  enjoy  our  present  civilization 
if  government  had  not  that  backing.  In  time  of  peace  citi- 
zens must  have  a  guarantee  for  life  and  property;  it  is  just 
this  force  of  the  male  voter  that  can  be  called  upon  when 
needed.  This  is  a  part  of  our  strong  constitutional,  demo- 
cratic government. 


n6  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Men  and  women  are  both  citizens  and  enjoy  exactly  the 
same  privileges  of  governmental  administration,  such  as  gas, 
light,  police,  schools,  sound  money,  protection  of  life  and 
property,  sewers,  paved  streets,  transportation,  hospitals, 
courts,  judges,  law  and  order,  and  what  not? 

In  no  other  country,  and  at  no  other  time  has  the  world 
seen  such  material  progress,  such  social  and  moral  advance- 
ment, as  in  our  own  land  during  the  last  130  years;  and  in- 
vestigation shows  that  woman's  progress  has  been  no  less 
marked  than  that  of  population,  wealth  and  industry. 

We  find  in  the  general  advancement  of  women,  in  the 
improvement  of  her  economic  position,  in  her  social  and 
civic  influence,  and  in  her  opportunity  for  culture,  a  thing 
without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.  And  we  anti- 
suffragists  can  say  with  pride  that  all  this  has  been  ac- 
complished without  granting  women  the  ballot. 

Women  should  organize  and  form  associations,  as  men 
have  done  if  they  intend  to  command  a  standard  wage. 
Supply  and  demand  will  do  the  rest.  Miss  Summer  in  her 
book  Equal  Suffrage  clearly  shows  that  women  and  children 
are  no  better  paid  in  the  four  states  where  women  vote  than 
in  the  states  where  they  do  not  vote. 

In  suffrage  states,  taking  public  employment  as  a  whole, 
women  receive  considerably  lower  remuneration  than  men. 
As  teachers,  women  receive  lower  salaries  on  the  average, 
than  men,  as  is  shown  in  Table  19  of  Miss  Summer's  book. 
The  conclusion  is  inevitable  that,  on  the  whole,  men  teachers 
are  better  paid  in  Colorado  than  women  teachers.  "Equal 
pay  for  equal  work"  does  not  exist  in  woman  suffrage  states 
any  more  than  it  does  elsewhere.  These  suffrage  states  are 
not  very  encouraging  as  object  lessons  for  us  in  the  east. 

Colorado  was  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1876,  and  great 
efforts  were  made  by  suffragists  to  secure  the  "Centennial" 
state.  This  resulted  in  a  submission  of  the  question  to  the 
people,  who  rejected  it  by  a  majority  of  7,443  in  a  total  vote 
of  20,665.  From  the  first  of  the  agitation  for  the  free  coin- 
age of  silver,  Colorado  has  been  enthusiastically  in  favor  of 
that  measure.  In  1892  her  devotion  to  it  caused  all  parties 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  117 

to  unite  on  that  issue  and  gave  the  vote  of  the  state  to  Gen- 
eral Weaver,  Populist  candidate  for  president,  and  to  David 
H.  Waite,  Populist  candidate  for  governor.  The  question  of 
woman  suffrage  was  re-submitted  to  the  people  at  this  elec- 
tion, and  the  constitutional  amendment  concerning  it  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  only  5,000  in  a  total  vote  of  200.000. 
Neither  that  movement  nor  its  results  present  triumphant 
democracy. 

Colorado  is  most  frequently  cited  as  the  banner  suffrage 
state;  yet  there,  the  granting  of  the  ballot  has  not  yet 
purified  politics. 

The  effect  upon  party  politics  has  been  very  slight.  Poli- 
tics are  as  corrupt  in  Colorado  as  in  any  state  in  the  Union. 
Judge  Lindsay  has  just  written  an  article  in  Everybody's 
Magazine,  entitled  'The  Beast  and  the  Jungle,"  which  cer- 
tainly does  not  indicate  either  peace  or  purity  in  politics. 

Probably  the  Juvenile  Court  of  Colorado  has  been  mo^t 
often  pointed  to  as  a  triumph  of  a  woman's  ballot. 

Yet,  in  nineteen  out  of  the  twenty-two  states  which  have 
juvenile  courts  to-day,  women  do  not  vote.  Moreover,  in 
the  four  in  which  they  do,  two  are  without  such  courts. 

Nor  was  Colorado  the  first  to  establish  such  a  court,  but 
instead,  Massachusetts,  where  three  years  before  the  women 
of  the  state  had  rejected  equal  suffrage. 

In  other  words,  it  would  appear  that  the  Juvenile  Court 
can  be  and  is  achievable  without  the  female  ballot. 

In  Colorado,  divorces  are  more  easily  obtained  than  in 
our  own  state,  and  after  a  very  short  period  of  time. 

Suffragists  say  women  should  make  their  own  laws — but 
after  forty  years  of  woman  suffrage  in  Utah  and  Wyoming, 
we  find  that  like  all  other  states  men  make  the  laws  and  wom- 
en derive  many  benefits  from  them.  Women  do  not  do  jury 
duty,  and  are  not  judged  by  peers  of  their  own  sex,  nor  is 
there  any  demand  for  such  a  state  of  affairs. 

Utah  was  the  first  territory  in  this  country  in  which  wom- 
an suffrage  gained  a  foothold. 

Woman  Suffrage  was  co-incident  with  the  establishment 
of  the  Mormon  church,  and  it  came  as  a  legitimate  part  of 


n8  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

the  union  of  church  and  state,  of  communism,  of  polygamy. 

The  dangers  that  especially  threaten  a  Constitutional  or 
Republican  form  of  government  are  anarchy,  communism, 
and  religious  bigotry;  and  two  of  these  found  their  fullest 
expression  in  this  country,  in  the  Mormon  creed  and  prac- 
tice. 

Woman  Suffrage  was  secured  in  Wyoming  by  means  that 
bring  dishonor  upon  democracy. 

Wyoming  was  organized  as  a  Territory  in  1868.  Many 
of  its  native  settlers  were  from  Utah. 

The  History  of  Woman  Suffrage  records  the  fact  that  the 
measure  was  secured  in  the  first  territorial  legislature 
through  the  political  trickery  of  an  illiterate  and  discredited 
man.  who  was  in  the  chair.  • 

Mr.  Bryce,  in  The  American  Commonwealth  alludes  in  a 
note  to  the  same  fact. 

Women  voted  in  1870.  In  1871  a  bill  was  passed  repeal- 
ing the  suffrage  act,  but  was  vetoed  by  the  governor,  on  the 
ground  that,  having  been  admitted,  it  must  be  given  a  fair 
trial. 

An  attempt  to  pass  the  repeal  over  his  veto  was  lost  by  a 
single  vote. 

Certainly,  the  entrance  of  woman  suffrage  into  Wyoming 
was  not  a  triumph  of  democratic  progress  and  principle. 

In  1894  the  Populist  party  of  Idaho  put  a  plank  in  its 
platform  favoring  the  submission  of  a  woman-suffrage 
amendment  to  the  people.  In  1896  the  Free  Silver  Populist 
movement  swept  the  state.  A  majority  of  the  votes  cast  on 
the  suffrage  question  were  cast  in  its  favor,  but  not  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  votes  cast  at  the  election.  The  supreme 
courts  have  generally  held  that,  in  so  important  a  matter,  a 
complete  majority  vote  was  required,  but  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Idaho  did  not  so  hold,  and  woman  suffrage  is  now  es- 
tablished in  that  state.  This,  also,  is  hardly  a  success  of 
sound  democracy. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  121 

hands,  feeble  and  nerveless  for  strife,  weapons  with  which 
she  is  unfamiliar  and  which  she  is  unable  to  wield.  Woman 
in  strife  becomes  hard,  harsh,  unlovable,  repulsive;  as  far 
removed  from  that  gentle  creature  to  whom  we  all  owe  al- 
legiance and  to  whom  we  confess  submission,  as  the  heaven 
is  removed  from  the  earth.  Government,  Mr.  President,  is 
protection.  The  whole  science  of  government  is  the  science 
of  protecting  life  and  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  of 
protecting  our  person,  our  property,  our  homes,  our  wives 
and  our  children,  against  foreign  aggression,  against  civil 
dissension,  against  mobs  and  riots  rearing  their  fearful  heads 
within  this  peaceful  land  during  the  very  sessions  of  this 
Convention.  Against  crime  and  disorder,  and  all  the  army 
of  evil,  civil  society  wages  its  war,  and  government  is  the 
method  of  protection,  protection  of  us  all.  The  trouble,  Mr. 
President,  is  not  in  the  principles  which  underlie  govern- 
ment. Men  and  women  alike  acknowledge  them  and  would 
enforce  them,  honor  and  truth,  and  justice  and  liberty;  the 
difficulty  is  to  find  out  how  to  protect  them.  The  difficulty 
is  to  frame  the  measure,  to  direct  the  battle,  to  tell  where 
and  how  the  blows  are  to  be  struck  and  when  the  defenses 
are  to  be  erected. 

Mr.  President,  in  the  divine  distribution  of  powers,  the 
duty  and  the  right  of  protection  rests  with  the  male.  It  is 
so  throughout  nature.  It  is  so  with  men,  and  I,  for  one  will 
never  consent  to  part  with  the  divine  right  of  protecting  my 
wife,  my  daughter,  the  women  whom  I  love  and  the  women 
whom  I  respect,  exercising  the  birthright  of  man,  and  place 
that  high  duty  in  the  weak  and  nerveless  hands  of  those 
designed  by  God  to  be  protected  rather  than  to  engage  in 
the  stern  warfare  of  government. 


Woman  Suffrage,  pp.  11-2,  15. 
Ex-Justice  Brown. 

It  is  now  proposed   to   extend   the   right  not   simply  to 
those  who  have  been  unjustly  excluded  from  it,  but  practical- 


122  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

ly  to  double  the  voting  population  by  including  a  class  which 
has  never  exercised  the  franchise,  and  of  whose  qualifications 
we  have  no  practical  knowledge.  I  look  upon  the  experi- 
ment as  not  without  peril.  While  in  the  ordinary  process 
of  peaceful  government  no  danger  may  be  apprehended,  I 
should  fear  that  in  critical  moments  the  generous  impulses 
of  women  might  lead  them  far  astray  from  the  path  ,of 
safety.  Women  are  far  more,  intense  in  their  convictions^ 
than  men,  and,  once  an  opinion  is  formed,  are  prone  to  over- 
look the  obstacles  in  the  way.  the  difficulties  in  bringing 
about  the  desired  results,  or  even  to  give  credit  to  the  con- 
scientious convictions  of  others.  As  the  average  man  who  • 
is  defeated  in  a  lawsuit  is  apt  to  attribute  the  outcome  either 
to  the  bribery  of  the  judge  or  jury,  rather  than  to  the  inher- 
ent weakness  of  his  case,  a  woman  who  is  opposed  in  a  favor- 
ite scheme  or  ambition  is  loth  to  admit  conscientious  motives 
in  those  who  oppose  her.  Inded,  it  is  a  common  infirmity  of 
both  men  and  women  to  have  the  strongest  opinions  con- 
cerning matters  of  which  we  really  know  the  least,  and  which 
are  the  least  susceptible  of  proof.  A  painful  instance  of  this 
kind  occurred  in  connection  with  the  anti-canteen  law,  en- 
acted by  Congress  a  few  years  ago.  x  Those  who  were  in 
Washington  at  the  time  could  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  fact 
that  the  passage  of  the  bill  was  procured  by  the  efforts  of 
crowds  of  perfectly  respectable,  upright  and  conscientious 
women,  who  thronged  the  halls  of  the  capitol  during  the 
debate,  practically  overawed  the  members  and  compelled 
many  of  them  to  vote  against  their  convictions  rather  than 
be  charged  with  opposition  to  the  cause  of  temperance.  The 
consequences  are  said  to  be  deplorable.  Saloons  of  the 
lowest  class  sprang  up  around  the  reservations,  and  if  we  are 
to  believe  the  almost  universal  testimony  of  army  officers, 
drunkenness  increased,  arrests  increased,  desertions  in- 
creased, though  the  principle  that  the  United  States  should 
no  longer  be  privy  to  the  sale  of  liquor  was  fully  established 
If  I  have  betrayed  an  opinion  adverse  to  the  bestowal 
of  female  suffrage.  I  am  sure  it  will  not  be  attributed  to  any 
opposition  to  the  advancement  of  the  sex  in  anything  that 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  123 

will  contribute  to  the  complete  rounding  out  of  their  lives, 
or  make  them  more  valuable  members  of  the  body  politic. 
My  fear  is  that  the  right  to  vote  will  not  elevate  their  char- 
acter, but  will  rather  minister  to  a  growing  desire  of  the 
sex  to  vindicate  their  rights  by  competing  with  men  in  what 
has  heretofore  been  regarded  as  man's  peculiar  province.  My 
fear  is  that  success  in  this  effort  may  do  much  to  brush  ( 
away  that  bloom  of  delicacy  and  refinement  which  from  time 
immemorial  has  won  the  admiration  and  evoked  the  chivalry 
of  the  stronger  sex;  that  in  becoming  politicians  they  will 
lose  something  of  the  instincts  of  motherhood;  that  in  win- 
ning public  favor  they  will  leave  behind  them  something  of 
their  attachment  to  the  virtues  of  private  life;  that  contact 
with  coarse  men  at  the  polls  will  familiarize  them  with  the 
vulgarities  of  politics;  in  short,  that  in  becoming  more  like 
men  they  will  become  less  like  women.  If  I  oppose  woman 
suffrage  it  is  not  so  much  because  I  fear  their  voting  as  be- 
cause I  fear  their  not  voting,  with  the  result  that  the  intelli- 
gent and  educated  will  refrain,  and  leave  their  sex  to  be 
represented  by  the  lowest  class. 


Relation  of  the  Sexes  to  Government,  pp.  5-9. 
Edward  D.  Cope. 

The  first  thought  that  strikes  us  in  considering  the  wom- 
an-suffrage movement  is,  that  it  is  a  proposition  to  engage 
women  once  more  in  that  "struggle"  from  which  civilization 
has  enabled  them  in  great  measure  to  escape;  and  that  its 
effect,  if  long  continued  and  fairly  tried,  will  be  to  check  the 
development  of  woman  as  such,  and  to  bring  to  bear  on  her 
influences  of  a  kind  different  from  those  which  have  been 
hitherto  active.  And  it  becomes  an  impartial  thinker  to  ex- 
amine the  question  more  closely,  and  see  whether  investiga- 
tion bears  out  these  impressions  or  not.  We  inquire,  then, 
in  the  first  place,  Is  government  a  function  adapted  to  the 
female  character,  or  within  the  scope  of  her  natural  powers? 
We  then  endeavor  to  discover  whether  her  occupation  of 


124  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

this  field  of  action  is  calculated  to  promote  the  mutual  sex 
interest  which  has  been  referred  to  above,  and  thus  to  sub- 
serve the  natural  evolution  of  humanity. 

In  endeavoring  to  answer  the  first  question  we  are  at 
once  met  by  the  undoubted  fact  that  woman  is  physically 
incapable  of  carrying  into  execution  any  law  she  may  enact. 
She  cannot,  therefore,  be  called  on  to  serve  in  any  executive 
capacity  where  law  is  to  be  executed  on  adults.  Now  serv- 
ice in  the  support  of  laws  enacted  by  those  who  "rule  by  the 
consent  of  the  governed"  is  a^  sine  qua  non  of  the  right  to 
elect  governors.  It  is  a  common  necessity  to  which  all  of 
the  male  sex  are,  during  most  of  their  lives,  liable  to  be 
called  on  to  sustain.  This  consideration  alone,  it  appears  to 
me,  puts  the  propriety  of  female  suffrage  out  of  the  question. 
The  situation  is  such  that  the  sexes  cannot  take  an  equal 
share  of  governmental  responsibilities  even  if  they  should 
desire  to  do  so.  Woman  suffrage  becomes  government  by 
women  alone  on  every  occasion  where  a  measure  is  carried 
by  the  aid  of  woman's  votes.  If  such  a  measure  should  be 
obnoxious  to  a  majority  of  men,  they  could  successfully*  defy 
a  party  composed  of  a  minority  of  their  own  sex  and  a  ma- 
jority of  the  women.  That  this  would  be  done  there  can  be 
no  question,  for  we  have  a  parallel  case  in  the  attempt  to 
carry  into  effect  negro  suffrage  in  some  parts  of  the  South. 
We  know  the  history  too  well.  Intimidation,  deception,  and 
the  manipulation  of  the  count  have  nullified  the  negro  vote. 
How  many  governors,  legislatures,  and  even  presidents  have 
attained  their  positions  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  ,the 
ballot  during  the  last  twenty  years,  we  may  never  know.  In 
times  of  peace  and  general  prosperity  these  things  have  ex- 
cited indignant  protest,  but  nothing  more.  But  when  serious 
issues  distract  the  nation  or  any  part  of  it,  frauds  on  the 
ballot  and  intimidation  of  voters  will  be  a  more  serious  mat- 
ter, and  will  lead  to  disastrous  consequences.  We  do  not 
want  to  increase  possibilities  of  such  evil  portent.  Un- 
qualified negro  suffrage  is,  in  the  writer's  estimation,  a  ser- 
ious blunder,  and  woman  suffrage  would  be  another.  And 
it  is  now  proposed  that  we  have  both  combined. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  m      125 

Immunity  from  service  in  executing  the  law  would  make 
most  women  irresponsible  voters.  But  there  are  other  rea- 
sons why  the  questions  involved  in  government  are  foreign 
to  the  thoughts  of  most  women.  The  characteristics  of  the 
female  mind  have  been  already  described.  Most  men  who 
have  associated  much  with  girls  and  women  remember  how 
many  needed  lessons  they  have  learned  from  them  in  re- 
finement and  benevolence;  and  how  they  have  had,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  steel  their  minds  against  their  aimlessness 
and  pettiness.  And  from  youth  to  later  years  they  have 
observed  one  peculiarity  for  which  no  remedy  has  been  yet 
found,  and  that  is,  a  pronounced  frailty  of  the  rational  faculty 
in  thought  or  action.  This  characteristic  is  offset  by  a 
strength  and  elevation  of  the  emotional  nature,  which  shines 
with  inextinguishable  luster  in  the  wife  and  mother.  It  is 
to  this  that  man  renders  the  homage  of  respect,  admiration, 
and  such  devotion  as  he  is  capable  of.  But  are  these  the 
qualities  for  our  governors?  Men  who  display  personal  bias 
in  ever  so  small  a  degree,  unless  accompanied  by  unusual 
merits  of  another  kind,  are  not  selected  by  their  fellows  for 
positions  of  responsibility  and  trust.  Strong  understanding, 
vigorous  judgment,  and  the  absence  of  "fear,  favor,  and 
affection,"  are  what  men  desire  in  their  governors;  for  only 
through  minds  of  that  character  can  justice  be  obtained. 

On  account  of  their  stronger  sympathies  girls  always 
think  themselves  the  moral  superiors  of  boys,  who  are  often 
singularly  devoid  of  benevolence,  especially  toward  the  lower 
animals.  Some  women  imagine,  for  this  reason,  that  their 
entire  sex  is  morally  the  superior  of  the  male.  But  a  good 
many  women  learn  to  correct  this  opinion.  In  departments 
of  morals  which  depend  on  the  emotional  nature,  women  are 
the  superior;  for  those  which  depend  on  the  rational  nature, 
man  is  the  superior.  When  the  balance  is  struck,  I  can  see 
no  inferiority  on  either  side.  But  the  quality  of  justice  re- 
mains with  the  male.  It  is  on  this  that  men  and  women 
must  alike  depend,  and  hence  it  is  that  women  so  often  pre- 
fer to  be  judged  by  men  rather  than  by  their  own  sex.  They 
will  not  gain  anything.  I  believe,  by  assuming  the  right  of 


126  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

suffrage  that  they  cannot  gain  without 'it,  and  they  might 
meet  with  serious  loss.  In  serving  the  principle  of  "the 
greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number,"  man  is  constantly 
called  on  to  disregard  the  feelings  of  particular  persons,  and 
even  to  outrage  their  dearest  ties  of  home  and  family.  Wom- 
en cannot  do  this  judicially.  After  the  terrors  of  the  law 
have  done  their  work,  woman  steps  in  and  binds  up  the 
wounds  of  the  victims,  and  the  world  blesses  both  the  aveng- 
er and  the  comforter. 

In  the  practical  working  of  woman  suffrage,  women 
would  either  vote  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  their 
husbands  and  lovers  or  they  would  not.  Should  they  do  the 
former  habitually,  such  suffrage  becomes  a  farce,  and  the 
only  result  would  be  to  increase  the  aggregate  number  of 
•)  votes  cast.  Should  women  vote  in  opposition  to  the  men  to 
whom  they  are  bound  by  ties  sentimental  or  material,  un- 
pleasant consequences  would  sooner  or  later  arise.  No  man 
would  view  with  equanimity  the  spectacle  of  his  wife  or 
daughters  nullifying  his  vote  at  the  polls,  or  contributing 
their  influence  to  sustain  a  policy  of  government  which  he'" 
should  think  injurious  to  his  own  well-being  or  that  of  the 
community.  His  purse  would  be  more  open  to  sustain  the 
interests  of  his  own  political  party,  and  if  he  lived  in  the 
country  he  would  probably  not  furnish  transportation  to 
the  polls  for  such  members  of  his  family  as  voted  against 
him.  He  would  not  probably  willingly  entertain  at  his  house 
persons  who  should  be  active  in  'obtaining  the  votes  of  his 
wife  and  daughters  against  himself;  and  on  the  other  hand 
the  wife  might  refuse  entertaitiment  to  the  active  agents  of 
the  party  with  which  she  might  not  be  in  sympathy.  The 
unpleasantness  in  the  social  circle  which  comes  into  view 
with  the  advent  of  woman  suffrage  is  formidable  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  nothing  less  than  some  necessity  yet  undreamed 
of  should  induce  us  to  give  entrance  to  such  a  disturber  of 
the  peace.  We  need  no  additional  causes  of  marital  infelic- 
ity. But  we  are  told  by  the  woman-suffrage  advocate  that 
such  objections  on  the  part  of  men  are  without  good  reason, 
and  are  prejudices  which  should  be  set  aside.  But  they  can- 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  127 

not  be  set  aside  so  long  as  human  nature  remains  what  it  is. 
Men  may  grant  women  anything  but  the  right  to  rule  them, 
but  there  they  draw  the  line.  Is  it  not  on  questions  of  rule 
that  the  wars  of  men  are  mostly  fought,  and  will  men  yield 
to  the  weak  what  they  only  yield  to  irresistible  force?  In 
the  settlement  of  all  questions  by  force,  women  are  only  in 
the  way. 

The  effect  of  sexual  discord  is  bad  on  both  sexes,  but  has 
its  greatest  influence  for  evil  through  women.  While  it  does 
not  remove  her  frailties  it  suppresses  her  distinctively  femi- 
nine virtues.  This  suppression,  continued  for  a  few  genera- 
tions, must  end  in  their  greater  or  less  abolition.  The  lower 
instincts  would  remain,  the  flowers  which  blossom  on  that 
stem  would  wither.  No  matter  what  their  intellectuality 
might  be,  such  women  would  produce  a  race  of  moral  bar- 
barians, which  would  perish  ultimately  through  intestine 
strife.  The  highest  interests  and  pleasures  of  the  male  man 
are  bound  up  in  the  effective  preservation  of  the  domestic 
affections  .of  his  partner.  When  these  traits  are  weak,  he 
should  use  every  effort  to  develop  them  by  giving  them 
healthy  exercise.  As  in  all  evolution,  disuse  ultimately  ends 
in  atrophy,  and  the  atrophy  of  the  affections  in  woman  is  a 
disaster  in  direct  proportion  to  its  extent.  It  may  be  replied 
again  that  woman  suffrage  carries  with  it  no  such  probable 
result.  But  I  believe  that  it  does,  unless  the  relations  of  the 
sexes  are  to  be  reversed.  But  it  will  be  difficult  to  reduce 
the  male  man  to  the  condition  of  the  drone  bee  (although 
some  men  seem  willing  to  fill  that  role);  or  of  the  male 
spider,  who  is  first  a  husband  and  then  a  meal  for  his 
spouse.  We  have  gone  too  far  in  the  opposite  direction  for 
that.  It  will  be  easier  to  produce  a  reversion  to  barbarism 
in  both  sexes  by  the  loss  of  their  mutual  mental  hyper- 
aesthesia. 

If  women  would  gain  anything  with  the  suffrage  that  they 
cannot  gain  without  it,  one  argument  would  exist  in  its  favor 
to  the  many  against  it;  but  the  cause  of  women  has  made 
great  progress  without  it,  and  will,  I  hope,  continue  to 
do  so.  Even  in  the  matter  of  obtaining  greater  facilities  for 


128  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

divorce  from  drunken,  or  insane,  or  brutal  husbands  than 
now  exist  in  many  states  of  the  Union,  they  can  compel 
progress  by  agitation.  A  woman's  society,  with  this  reform 
as  its  object,  would  obtain  definite  results.  The  supposition 
that  woman  would  improve  the  price  of  her  labor  by  legisla- 
tion is  not  more  reasonable  than  it  is  in  the  case  of  men, 
who  have  to  yield  to  the  inexorable  law  of  supply  and  de- 
mand. 

When  we  consider  the  losses  that  women  would  sustain 
with  the  suffrage  carried  into  effect  bona  fide,  the  reasons  in 
its  favor  dwindle  out  of  sight.  The  first  effect  would  be  to 
render  marriage  more  undesirable  to  women  than  it  is  now. 
A  premium  would  be  at  once  set  on  unmarried  life  for  wom- 
en, and  the  hetaera  would  become  a  more  important  person 
to  herself  and  to  the  state,  than  the  wife,  because  more  in- 
dependent. The  number  of  men  and  women  who  would 
adopt  some  system  of  marriage  without  obligation  would 
greatly  increase.  Confidence  .and  sympathy  between  married 
people  would  be  in  many  instances  impaired;  in  fact,  the 
first  and  many  other  steps  would  be  taken  in  the  process  of 
weakening  home  affection,  and  there  would  follow  a  cor- 
responding loss  of  its  civilizing  influences  and  a  turning 
backward  of  the  current  of  moral  progress.  The  interven- 
tion of  women  in  public  affairs  is  to  be  dreaded  also  by 
those  who  desire  peace  among  men.  Both  women  and  their 
male  friends  resent  treatment  for  them  which  men  would 
quite  disregard  as  applied  to  themselves;  and  woman  suf- 
frage would  see  the  introduction  of  more  or  less  women  into 
public  life. 

The  devotional  nature  of  women  must  not  be  left  out  of 
the  account  in  considering  this  question.  While  this  ele- 
ment is  of  immense  value  to  that  sex  and  to  society  when 
expended  upon  ethical  themes,  when  it  is  allied  to  theological 
issues  it  becomes  an  obstruction  to  progress  of  the  most 
serious  nature.  Were  woman  suffrage  granted,  theological 
questions  would  at  once  assume  a  new  political  importance, 
and  religious  liberty  and  toleration  would  have  to  pass 
through  new  perils  and  endure  the  test  of  new  strains.  What 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  129 

the  effect  would  be  we  cannot  foresee,  but  it  could  not  be 
good.  The  priest  would  acquire  a  new  political  importance, 
and  the  availability  of  candidates  would  be  greatly  influenced 
by  their  church  affiliations. 

Many  objections  would  be  nullified  if  women  should  vote 
under  the  immediate  direction  of  their  responsible  male  as- 
sociate, except  the  one  based  on  their  exemption  from  the 
execution  of  the  laws;  but,  should  they  so  vote,  woman  suf- 
frage becomes  a  farce,  as  it  is  to  that  extent  where  it  now 
prevails.  The  very  essential  support  given  by  women  voters 
to  polygamy  in  Utah  is  an  illustration  of  this.  In  Wyoming 
men  load  up  wagons  with  their  women  to  drive  them  to  the 
polls  to  vote  their  own  ticket,  as  I  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  in  that  territory;  and  so  they  would  do  everywhere. 
If  they  wished  to  vote  otherwise,  they  might  stay  at  home; 
and  it  is  to  be  expected  that  women  would  sometimes  wish 
to  vote  "otherwise." 

What  I  have  written  does  not  include  any  reference  to 
supposed  inherent  right  to  the  suffrage  or  to  any  principles 
of  representative  government.  This  is  because  the  view  that 
suffrage  is  not  a  right  but  a  privilege  appears  to  the  writer 
to  be  the  most  rational  one,  and  because  any  system  of  gov- 
ernment which  tends  to  disturb  the  natural  relations  of  the 
sexes  I  believe  to  be  most  injurious.  In  the  absolute  gov- 
ernments of  Europe  the  home  is  safe  whatever  else  may 
suffer;  but  a  system  which  shall  tend  to  the  dissolution  of 
the  home  is  more  dangerous  than  any  form  of  absolutism 
which  at  the  same  time  respects  the  social  unit. 

What  America  needs  is  not  an  extension,  but  a  restriction 
of  the  suffrage. 


Problem  of  Woman  Suffrage,  pp.  3-4. 
Adeline  Knapp. 

The  possibility  of  extending  the  suffrage  to  women  must 
come  into  serious  question.  Our  voting  body  is  to-day  so 
large,  so  unwieldy,  as  to  form  a  serious  menace  to  the  institu- 


130  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

tions  of  our  country.  Thoughtful  men  and  women,  regard- 
ing the  situation,  cannot  but  view  with  apprehension  any 
addition  to  this  well-nigh  self-defeating  body.  Certainly  the 
good  possible  to  accrue  to  the  Nation  must  be  very  clearly 
shown  before  this  step  is  taken  so  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  nations,  of  precipitating  upon  the  country  at  large 
bodies  of  voters  whose  legal  status  is  that  of  dependents. 

This  brings  us  to  the  question  of  whether  the  ballot  is, 
per  se,  a  human  right.  If  it  is,  then  it  must  be  granted  that 
there  is  no  reason  in  logic  why  it  should  not  be  in  the  hands 
of  women  as  well  as  of  men.  There  is,  however,  no  Nation 
that  has  not  reserved  to  itself  the  right  to  declare  who  shall 
exercise  its  suffrages.  The  United  States  government  has 
opened  widest  this  door,  but  it  is  a  growing  question  among 
statesmen,  at  home  as  well  as  abroad,  whether  it  has  done 
wisely  in  this  respect.  It  must  be  remembered  and  can  be 
remembered,  too,  with  pure  and  partiotic  loyalty,  that  this 
government  is  still  in  an  experimental  stage.  We  may  be- 
lieve it  the  republican  idea,  the  American  idea  if  you  prefer 
so  to  style  it,  we  may  love  our  country,  none  the  less  that 
we  are  sorely  troubled  for  her  future;  we  may  hope  earnestly 
to  see  her  ride  triumphantly  into  safe  harbor,  but  our  faith, 
our  love,  our  earnest  hope  cannot  establish  the  success  of 
this  experiment  if  the  logic  of  time  shall  prove  to  be 
against  it.  There  is  no  argument  from  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  to  establish  the  natural  right  of  women  to  the 
ballot.  This  government  is  not  based  upon  "the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  but  upon  the  Constitution,  drawn  and 
adopted  by  the  men  who  establish  the  government,  and  this 
Constitution  defines  who  shall  be  entitled  to  vote. 

It  is  claimed  for  the  ballot  that  it  would  give  to  women  a 
sense  of  responsibiliy  which  they  do  not  now  possess.  It  is 
claimed  by  thoughtful  friends,  as  well  as  by  enemies  of  the 
Nation,  that  a  serious  defect  in  American  character  is  the 
failure  to  accept  and  to  discharge  grave  responsibilities  in 
matters  of  government,  as  our  blood-kin,  the  English,  for  in- 
stance, accept  and  discharge  such.  The  sense  of  responsi- 
bility toward  the  government  is  not  a  characteristic  of  voting 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  131 

American  manhood.  Why  should  we  be  asked  to  assume 
that  voting  will  make  it  a  characteristic  of  American  wom- 
anhood? The  private  morality,  the  character  building  that 
must  precede  all  public  law-making  and  sense  of  responsi- 
bility has  all  along  been  in  the  hands  of  women.  How  have 
they  accounted  for  it? 


Do  Working  Women  Need  the  Ballot? 

Adeline  Knapp. 

The  claim  is  made  that  working  women  in  this  state  are 
handicapped  as  wage-earners,  because  they  have  not  the 
franchise.  If  this  claim  can  be  substantiated  it  has  a  very 
direct  bearing  upon  the  whole  question  of  enfranchising 
women;  but  those  who  make  it  are  not  very  definite  in  ex- 
plaining how  this  alleged  handicap  operates. 

Certainly  it  does  not  operate  to  close  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity to  women.  The  industrial  field  is  to-day  wide  open  to 
them,  in  this  country,  and  American  women  have  not  been 
slow  to  enter  it. 

Several  years  ago  I  made  a  trip  to  the  Orient.  The  last 
person  I  spoke  to  on  American  soil  was  a  woman  customs 
inspector,  on  the  wharf  at  San  Francisco.  In  Yokohama, 
going  into  a  store  to  make  a  purchase,  I  was  waited  upon  by 
an  American  woman,  and  needing  a  stenographer,  in  Manila, 
I  secured  the  services  of  an  American  girl  who  was  one  of 
the  Court  stenographers  there. 

It  would  be  difficult,  indeed,  to  find  any  employment  in 
this  country  into  which  women  may  not  enter,  with  no  other 
handicap  than  their  own  limitations.  We  see  them  working 
side  by  side  with  men,  in  the  arts  and  in  the  sciences;  prac- 
tically all  the  trades  are  open  to  them;  all  the  industries; 
even  the  suffrage  advocates  admit  that  every  avenue  of  em- 
ployment is  free  to  them. 

These  avenues  have  opened,  moreover,  not  as  a  result  of 
the  ballot,  or  of  agitation  for  the  franchise,  but  in  the  gen- 
eral course  of  the  world's  progress,  in  which  women  have  had 


132  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

their  share,  and  quite  independently  of  woman's  political 
status. 

But  the  claim  is  that  this  handicap  operates  against  wom- 
en as  wage-earners.  We  are  told  that  they  must  have  the 
ballot  to  help  them  obtain  the  same  pay  as  men,  for  equal 
services.  We  are  not,  however,  told  how  the  ballot  will  do 
this.  Nor  do  the  facts,  under  present  circumstances,  bear 
out  the  claim  for  it. 

For  a  concrete  instance:  in  the  state  of  California,  where, 
several  years  ago,  a  woman  suffrage  measure  was  defeated  by 
popular  vote,  the  salaries  of  women  teachers  in  the  public 
schools  are  the  same  as  those  of  men  holding  similar  posi- 
tions; while  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  where  women 
enjoy  school  suffrage,  the  women  teachers  are  greatly  under- 
paid, and  in  no  case  do  they  receive  the  same  salaries  as 
are  paid  to  men  for  the  same  services. 

The  ballot  is  not  one  of  the  influences  governing  wages, 
either  of  men  or  of  women.  The  conditions  which  regulate 
women's  wages  differ  in  different  communities,  in  obedience 
to  industrial  conditions,  and  the  law  of  supply  and  demand, 
In  an  agricultural  state,  like  California,  for  instance,  or  a 
mining  state,  like  Colorado,  or  in  the  great  ranging  states, 
like  Wyoming  and  Montana,  and  others  in  the  West,  the 
men  are  largely  in  other  than  mercantile  pursuits.  The 
more  usual  industrial  fields  are  left  more  open  to  women, 
who  are  not  themselves  sufficiently  numerous  to  make  Com- 
petition excessive,  and  so  their  wages  are  higher. 

In  New  York  state,  on  the  other  hand,  and  throughout 
New  England,  where  factories  and  commercial  houses  afford 
occupations  to  women,  there  are  many  applicants  for  every 
available  position,  women  crowd  the  working  ranks  and 
wages  are  brought  down.  In  these  older  and  more  crowded 
communities,  too,  the  competition  is  greater,  of  women  who 
need  not  be  wholly  self-supporting,  and  are  therefore  willing 
to  work  for  less  than  a  living  wage.  This  is  a  potent  factor 
in  keeping  women's  wages  down,  and  a  factor  which  the 
ballot  could  not  change. 

Women  who  have  passed  the  civil  service  examinations, 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  133 

too,  are  about  as  well  paid  as  men  in  the  same  positions. 
In  New  York  City,  for  instance,  the  women  sanitary  inspec- 
tors are  paid  the  same  salaries  as  men.  Civil  service  reform 
is  likely  to  be  a  good  deal  better  friend  to  working  women 
than  the  ballot  can  ever  be. 

M.en  had  the  ballot  for  years,  during  which  they  strove, 
ineffectively,  to  keep  wages  up.  In  many  cases  the  working- 
man's  vote  was  but  one  more  factor  in  the  unscrupulous  em- 
ployer's power  over  the  employe,  and  the  enforced  vote  of 
labor  kept  oppression  in  power.  Organization  and  co-opera- 
tion are  the  means  by  which  working  men  have  been  able  to 
raise  the  scale  of  wages,  and  to  keep  it  up;  and  these  are 
means  which  women  have  not  yet  learned  to  use. 

And  how  helpless  the  working  man  really  is  when  he  es- 
says to  become  a  political  factor,  has  been  demonstrated  to 
us  by  the  recent  terrible  object  lesson  in  San  Francisco, 
where  a  solidly  united  labor  vote,  of  unquestionably  honest 
working  men,  put  into  power  men  from  among  the  working 
men's  own  leaders,  who  betrayed  their  constituency,  robbed 
them,  and  well-nigh  wrecked  the.ir  city's  government. 

With  the  best  of  will  to  see  things  bettered,  the  working 
men  were  powerless  to  control  the  agents  their  own  votes 
had  elected.  They  were  helpless  to  bring  about  a  change 
until  there  arose  in  that  city  an  independent  leader;  a  man 
with  no  political  ambitions,  no  political  affiliations  or  obli- 
gations, whose  boast  it  was  that  although  a  native-born 
American,  he  had  never  voted  in  his  life. 

We  are  told  that  when  women  can  vote  we  shall  have 
fairer  and  juster  laws  for  woman's  government;  but  the  laws 
of  this  state,  relating  not  merely  to  working  women,  but  to 
all  women,  are  exceedingly  fair,  and  give  women  a  distinct 
advantage  over  men  in  many  ways. 

By  these  laws  women  are  afforded  equal  protection  with 
men,  in  their  property,  and  in  their  lives  and  liberties.  In 
cases  where  the  law  does  discriminate,  it  is  in  the  women's 
favor.  A  married  woman,  for  instance,  has  far  freer  con- 
trol over  her  own  property,  however  acquired,  than  a  mar- 
ried man  has  over  his.  Her  earnings,  if  she  is  a  wage- 


134  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

worker,  are  absolutely  and  solely  her  own,  and  she  is  under 
no  obligation  to  provide  for  her  husband  as  he  is  to  provide 
for  her,  even  to  the  extent  of  paying  her  alimony  if  she  gets 
a  divorce  and  re-marries. 

A  woman  in  business  is  exempt  from  arrest  in  an  action 
for  debt  fraudulently  contracted,  though  a  man  is  not.  A 
woman  against  whom  a  judgment  for  debt  is  obtained  enjoys 
certain  exemptions  from  execution  that  a  man  does  not  enjoy 
except  when  he  has  a  family  to  provide  for.  There  are, 
moreover,  many  special  statutes  designed  to  benefit  and  pro- 
tect women  employed  in  New  York,  as,  for  instance,  the 
one  which  provides  that  a  man  may  be  imprisoned  without 
privilege  of  bail,  and  that  none  of  his  property  is  exempt 
from  execution,  if  he  fails  to  pay  the  wages  of  a  female 
employe  up  to  fifty  dollars. 

We  have  seen,  then,  that  in  this  state  every  field  of  em- 
ployment is  open  to  women;  we  have  seen  that  the  scale  of 
women's  wages  is  determined  by  considerations  entirely  apart 
from  their  political  status,  and  that  state  legislation  has  been 
more  than  liberal  in  making  laws  for  the  protection  and  ad- 
vantage of  working  women.  Women  are  exempt,  moreover, 
from  all  of  the  many  personal  taxes  which  are  put  upon 
male  citizenship,  such  as  the  requirement  to  serve  on  jury, 
to  help  put  out  fires,  to  make  arrests,  to  help  quell  riots,  and 
to  bear  arms  when  the  country's  need  requires  it. 

Inexpediency  of  Granting  the  Suffrage  to  American  Women. 

PP.  3-9- 

Alice  H.  Chittenden. 

History  furnishes  many  instances  where  people  suffering 
under  some  injustice  of  a  tyrannous  government  have  band- 
ed together  and  demanded  the  suffrage  to  right  their  wrongs. 
But  it  has  remained  for  the  enlightened  2Oth  century  to 
witness  the  birth  and  development,  not  only  in  this  country 
but  also  in  England,  of  a  well  organized  movement  among 
an  unenfranchised  class  against  having  the  suffrage  forced 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  135 

upon  them.  This  fact  is  so  significant,  that  thoughtful 
men  and  women  are  beginning  to  realize  that  this  opposition 
to  woman  suffrage  must  be  based  upon  some  fundamental 
principles,  and  not  upon  the  mere  whim,  as  is  sometimes 
said,  of  women  who  do  not  wish  to  vote.  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying  that  those  of  us  who  are  actively  engaged  in 
opposing  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  our  sex  have  entirely 
eliminated  all  personal  or  individual  feeling  in  the  considera- 
tion of  this  question.  It  is  the  welfare  of  the  state  and  race 
which  we  have  at  heart,  and  a  careful  study  of  this  subject, 
not  merely  from  its  biological  or  scientific  side,  but  also 
from  the  point  of  view  of  governmental  expediency,  has  con- 
vinced us,  that  the  suffrage  would  but  add  another  respon- 
sibility to  those  woman  already  carries,  without  giving  her 
any  compensating  advantage;  that  the  whole  social  structure 
of  the  state  would  be  weakened  by  attempting  to  equalize 
and  identify  the  practical  activities  of  the  sexes,  and  the 
basic  principles  of  our  government  shattered  by  making  pos- 
sible a  majority  which  could  not  enforce  its  own  rule. 

We  claim  that  it  would  be  inexpedient — contrary  to  all 
the  interests  of  good  government  merely  to  double  the  elect- 
orate in  this  country  by  giving  the  ballot  to  all  women,  un- 
less such  an  increase  would  insure  a  higher  standard  of  in- 
telligence in  the  majority  of  votes  cast.  In  considering  this 
point  we  cannot  afford  to  ignore  the  fact  that  all  women  are 
not  cultured,  educated,  intelligent  and  upright,  but  that  un- 
fortunately there  are  those  among  our  sex  who  are  ignorant, 
vicious  and  depraved.  An  advocate  of  woman  suffrage  has 
recently  said,  "No  person,  however  unreasonable,  maintains 
that  all  women  are  honorable,  and  no  reasonable  person 
fails  to  realize  that  political  power  will  uncover  a  certain 
amount  of  moral  weakness  in  women  now  passing  as  hon- 
orable. But  the  vote  is  not  withheld  from  men  on  the  plea 
that  politics  give  dishonorable  men  a  chance  to  profit  by 
their  crookedness;  no  reasonable  person  then  can  agree  that 
it  should  be  withheld  from  women  for  that  cause."  This  is 
scarcely  a  plea  for  good  government.  Two  wrongs  do  not 
make  a  right.  If  we  have  made  the  mistake  of  giving  dis- 


136  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

honorable  men  the  chance  to  profit  by  buying  and  selling 
the  votes  of  their  fellow  men,  why  make  it  possible  for  them 
to  buy  and  sell  the  votes  of  women  as  well,  or  why  open  up 
this  same  temptation  to  women?  The  indifferent  male  voter 
as  well  as  the  dishonest  one  in  our  electorate  has  made  the 
problem  of  good  government  in  this  country  more  difficult, 
and  no  one  can  deny  that  there  will  be  a  still  larger  number 
of  indifferent  voters  among  the  women.  The  fact  that  the 
vast  majority  of  women  throughout  the  country  to-day  are 
totally  indifferent  to  this  whole  question  of  woman  suffrage, 
either  pro  or  con,  is  but  one  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  asser- 
tion. Will  our  political  problems  be  lessened  or  only  en- 
hanced by  admitting  to  the  body  politic  a  vast  army  of  wom- 
en voters  who  know  even  less  about  the  theories  and  prin- 
ciples of  our  government  than  does  the  average  male  voter? 

Every  woman  who  has  the  welfare  of  humanity  at  heart 
welcomed  the  famous  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  at 
Washington  two  years  ago  which  declared  constitutional  a 
law  limiting  the  hours  of  woman's  work  in  factories  on  the 
ground  that  as  the  mother  of  the  race  she  had  a  right  to 
such  protection  which  the  man  working  by  her  side  did  not 
possess.  Within  the  past  two  months  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Illinois  has  handed  down  a  similar  opinion  based  on  practi- 
cally the  same  grounds,  upholding  as  constitutional  a  law 
in  that  state  limiting  the  work  of  women  in  factories,  me- 
chanical establishments  or  laundries  to  ten  hours.  Such  de- 
cisions are  bound  to  be  far  reaching  in  effect,  and  will  serve 
to  crystallize  public  opinion  to  the  necessity  of  shorter  hours 
and  better  protection  for  the  woman  worker  if  we  are  to 
have  a  strong  and  vigorous  race. 

A  brief  review  of  some  of  the  laws  of  the  several  states 
shows  how  much  has  been  done  in  this  direction,  but  the 
assertion  that  the  laws  for  the  protection  of  working  women 
are  better  in  the  states  where  women  vote  than  they  are  in 
the  states  where  they  do  not  vote,  is  not  borne  out  by  the 
facts  of  the  case.  In  38  states  there  are  special  laws  of  some 
kind  for  the  comfort  or  safety  of  working  women.  There  is 
no  law  of  this  kind  on  the  statute  books  of  Idaho.  In  20 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  137 

states  the  hours  of  woman's  labor  is  definitely  limited.  In 
the  four  states  where  women  vote,  however,  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  length  of  a  woman's  working  day.  It  would  seem 
from  this  that  members  of  our  sex  are  in  reality  not  as  well 
off  under  a  constitution  which  regards  them  merely  as  an 
individual  factor  in  the  economic  system,  as  they  are  in 
the  states  where  they  are  looked  upon  as  being  what  the 
Creator  intended  them  to  be — Women.  Thirty-four  states 
require  seats  to  be  provided  for  the  use  of  female  employes 
in  mercantile  or  manufacturing  establishments  when  they  are 
not  engaged  in  actual  duties.  In  New  York  State  seats 
must  be  provided  in  mercantile,  manufacturing  and  mechani- 
cal establishments  as  well  as  in  hotels  and  restaurants.  In 
Colorado  and  Wyoming  seats  are  not  required  in  hotels  and 
restaurants.  In  Utah  not  in  manufacturing  concerns,  and 
Idaho  has  no  regulations  of  this  kind.  In  14  states  a  mother 
is  joint  guardian  of  the  children  with  the  father.  Colorado 
is  the  only  suffrage  state  where  this  law  is  in  force.  The  4 
states  in  which  the  best  child  labor  laws  prevail,  are,  New 
York,  Ohio,  Illinois  and  Colorado.  In  no  respect,  however, 
do  the  laws  of  Colorado  regulating  the  labor  of  children 
excel  those  in  New  York. 

Equal  pay  for  men  and  women  teachers  does  not  hold 
good  in  Colorado,  for  we  are  told  that  the  difference  in  the 
salaries  of  men  and  women  teachers  in  that  state,  instead 
of  being  unusually  small,  is  unusually  large. 

A  brief  review  of  some  of  the  laws  affecting  a  woman's 
property  rights  will  suffice  to  show  that  in  this  respect  also 
woman  is  as  well  off  in  the  non-suffrage  states  as  she  is  in 
those  where  she  does  her  own  voting.  Women's  rights  of 
inheritance  in  their  husbands'  estate,  for  instance,  are  either 
equal  or  greater  than  those  of  the  husband  in  forty  states. 
In  Idaho,  not  only  are  the  property  rights  in  favor  of  the 
husband,  but  a  woman's  property  may  be  seized  to  pay  a 
husband's  debts.  In  that  state  also  and  five  other  states  the 
husband  has  control  of  the  community  property,  whereas 
in  27  states  all  of  a  married  woman's  property  is  free.  In 
38  states  the  earnings  of  married  women  are  secured  to 
them. 


138  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

No  one  will  deny  that  under  the  old  Common  Law  wom- 
an suffered  from  many  legal  disabilities,  but  during  the  past 
fifty  years  these  have  not  only  been  removed,  but  men  have 
granted  her  legal  rights  and  privileges  which  in  many  in- 
stances far  exceed  his  own.  Are  the  women  who  are  de- 
manding the  suffrage  ready  to  foreswear  these  privileges 
and  immunities  the  day  the  ballot  is  placed  in  their  hands? 
If  so,  will  they  not  be  striking  rather  a  poor  bargain  by 
giving  up  more  than  they  will  get?  Yet  this  seems  to  be  a 
very  fair  proposition.  Why  should  they  retain  all  their 
rights  and  privileges  if  what  they  wish  is  to  be  man's  equal? 

This  question  suggests  another  point.  Will  man  continue 
*  to  feel  the  same  responsibility  for  woman's  welfare  if  wom- 
en have  the  ballot  and  can  legislate  for  themselves?  I  fear 
not,  and  I  believe  that  any  change  in  our  social  order  which 
tends  to  lessen  man's  responsibility  toward  woman  is  greatly 
to  be  regretted,  for  as  woman's  natural  protector  some  of 
the  noblest  traits  in  a  man's  character  are  developed. 

We  grant  there  may  still  be  minor  instances  in  some 
states  where  the  law  discriminates  against  women,  but  there 
is  sufficient  evidence  that  "the  subjection  of  woman"  is  a 
worn-out  phrase,  since  she  is  not  suffering  from  any  gross 
injustice  by  reason  of  our  so-called  man-made  laws.  To 
force  her  into  the  political  arena  to  fight  her  own  battles 
when  man  has  legislated  so  greatly  in  her  favor,  would  seem 
like  flying  in  the  face  of  Providence. 

Many  earnest  and  sincere  women  declare  they  want  to 
vote  because  they  wish  to  take  a  hand  in  what  they  call 
municipal  house-cleaning.  More  schools  are  needed,  more 
parks  and  playgrounds;  better  tenements  and  cleaner  streets. 
Give  us  the  ballot,  they  argue,  and  all  these  things  shall 
come  to  pass.  Now  these  enthusiastic  would-be  house-clean- 
ers fail  to  take  one  point  into  consideration,  and  a  very  im- 
portant point  it  is.  Under  our  form  of  government  clean 
streets  and  model  tenements  are  not  voted  for  at  the  polls. 
In  other  words,  men  do  not  vote  for  measures,  but  for  men 
whom  they  hope  will  carry  out  policies  in  which  the  voter 
believes.  But  a  candidate  for  political  office  may  be  elected 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  139 

in  one  section  of  the  city  to  carry  out  certain  measures, 
while  in  other  quarters  of  the  city  other  candidates  are 
elected  on  other  platforms,  so  when  the  different  elements 
meet  together  on  the  Council  Board  or  in  the  Legislature  a 
compromise  has  to  be  effected  or  the  political  machinery  is 
set  in  motion  and  the  measure  backed  by  the  majority  wins. 
Now  the  same  situation  would  arise  if  women  voted.  All 
the  women  would  not  agree  on  any  question  of  reform  any 
more  than  men  do,  or  if  they  all  should  happen  to  pull  to- 
gether for  a  measure,  they  might  find  the  men  arrayed  on 
the  other  side,  then  we  should  have  the  disagreeable  situa- 
tion of  a  battle  between  the  sexes,  and  a  most  unequal  bat- 
tle it  would  be.  If  the  men  were  in  the  majority  the  women 
would  lose  their  case,  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  women 
were  in  the  majority,  they  would  still  lose,  for  being  non- 
combatants  they  could  not  force  compliance  to  their  wishes 
upon  the  minority.  This  point  has  been  made  clear  by  a 
New  York  lawyer  who  said,  "The  majority  prevails  because 
it  is  the  majority,  and  could,  if  necessary,  compel  com- 
pliance with  its  wishes.  To  make  possible  a  majority  which 
a  minority  could  safely  defy,  would  be  to  overthrow  the 
fundamental  ideas  of  Republican  government." 

Under  the  present  conditions  of  government  woman  as  a 
non-partisan  citizen  is  a  power  in  any  community,  for  un- 
trammelled by  party  affiliations  or  obligations,  she  can  go 
before  any  legislative  committee  or  board  of  officials  and 
urge  the  passage  of  any  law  or  measure,  and  her  recom- 
mendations will  be  considered  on  their  merits,  and  not  be- 
cause she  voted  with  this  or  that  party  at  the  last  election. 
There  are  probably  many  in  this  audience  this  evening  who 
could  speak  with  authority  on  this  subject  and  cite  instances 
where  they  have  been  sponsors  for  some  remedial  measure 
which  is  now  on  the  statute  books  of  some  city  or  state. 
The  Equal  guardianship  law  in  New  York  is  a  case  in  point. 
That  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Woman's  educational  and  industrial  union  in 
Buffalo.  In  speaking  of  this  law  the  President  of  that  Asso- 
ciation said,  "It  passed  both  Houses  without  a  dissenting 


r40  SELECTED    ARTICLES 

vote.  Circulars  giving  full  information  as  to  the  desirability 
of  the  law  and  what  we  desired  to  accomplish  were  sent  to 
every  legislator,  but  there  was  no  lobbying,  and  it  was  not 
even  necessary  for  me  to  go  to  Albany."  Is  it  expedient  to 
take  such  power  from  woman  and  make  her  but  a  spoke 
in  the  wheel  of  political  machinery? 


Facts  and  Fallacies  about  Woman  Suffrage. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  great  majority  of 
women  want  to  vote.  They  do  not.  In  proof  of  which  we 
state  the  following  facts,  which  can  easily  be  verified.  We 
mention  first  the  Massachusetts  referendum  of  1895,  in  which 
the  women  of  that  state,  which  was  one  of  the  earliest  and 
strongest  advocates  of  suffrage  for  women,  were  invited  to 
put  themselves  on  record,  by  the  same  means  that  men  do, 
and  under  the  same  conditions,  as  to  whether  or  not  they 
desired  the  ballot.  Less  than  four  per  cent  of  all  the  women 
of  the  state,  of  voting  age,  expressed  such  a  desire,  and  that 
in  spite  of  the  earnest  efforts  of  the  suffragist  agitators  to 
call  out  a  large  affirmative  vote.  The  proposition  was  in- 
gloriously  defeated  all  over  the  state,  from  Cape  Cod  to  the 
Berkshire  Hills,  no  measure  having  ever  met  with  so  over- 
whelming an  overthrow  in  the  state.  Very  naturally  a 
proposition  for  a  similar  referendum  in  New  York  state  in 
1910  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  suffragists. 

School  suffrage,  now  granted  in  about  half  our  states, 
has  been  a  lamentable  failure,  the  woman  vote  averaging 
scarcely  2  per  cent  in  any  state.  In  the  state  of  Ohio  the 
number  of  women  responding  to  the  privilege  has  been  so 
small,  and  the  expense  of  registering  and  counting  it  has 
been  so  relatively  large,  that  it  has  been  seriously  proposed 
to  withdraw  it  altogether. 

In  Chicago,  in  the  election  of  November  8,  1910,  where 
women  are  allowed  to  vote  for  university  trustees,  in  spite 
of  the  earnest  efforts  of  the  suffragists  to  bring  out  the  full 
woman  vote  of  the  city,  its  population  being  counted  by 
millions,  490  females  registered,  and  of  these  but  243  voteds 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  141 

Several  years  ago  it  was  proposed  to  send  a  monster 
petition,  signed  by  a  million  women,  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  The  changes  upon  this  petition  were  contin- 
ually rung  in  our  ears,  and  the  petition  itself  was  circulated 
throughout  the  country,  and  women's  names  were  sought, 
begged,  entreated  and  cajoled  in  every  possible  way.  During 
the  last  session  of  Congress  (1910)  the  petition  was  carried 
to  Washington,  with  great  noise  of  trumpets  and  tooting  of 
automobiles,  but  when  the  signatures  were  examined  they 
were  found  to  number  less  than  half  a  million;  to  be  exact, 
women  163,438,  men  122,382,  and  119,005  described  by  the 
presenters  as  "unclassified."  We  do  not  know  exactly  what 
this  term  implies,  but  it  has  been  suggested  that  they  may  be 
babes  and  children,  whose  names  were  enrolled  on  the  sup- 
position that  when  they  were  grown  up  they  would  no  doubt 
be  suffragists.  The  population  of  the  United  States  accord- 
ing to  the  census  of  1910,  is  considerably  more  than  90.000,000. 
We  decline  to  figure  out  the  -insignificant  percentage  of  the 
number  which  the  names  signed  to  this  petition,  represent. 

Why  Women  Vote  in  Colorado 

But  it  is  said  that  women  vote  in  Colorado  and  the  other 
states  where  the  full  vote  is  allowed,  as  freely  as  the  men. 
To  this  we  reply,  that  the  rivalry  of  parties  forces  out  many 
unwilling  voters,  on  both  sides,  including  women  who  vote  at 
the  solicitation  of  men  anxious  for  the  passage  of  certain 
measures,  as  well  as  the  illiterate  and  immoral  who  are  the 
prey  of  bosses  and  ringsters.  We  have  testimony  to  this  fact 
from  both  suffrage  and  anti-suffrage  sources.  We  cite  first 
a  long  and  impartial  article  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  of 
November  ist,  1910,  a  paper  having  a  circulation  of  more 
than  a  million  copies.  It  sent  Mr.  Richard  Barry,  a  well 
known  writer  on  sociological  topics  to  Colorado  with  in- 
structions to  prepare  a  full  and  accurate  account  of  the  re- 
sults of  woman  suffrage  in  the  suffrage  states,  and  his  state- 
ments we  know  to  be  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  many 
estimable  women  in  Colorado,  who  state  that  they  are  not 
nearly  as  free  in  working  for  philanthropic  measures  as  in 


142  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

the  old  days  when  their  influence  was  unhampered  by  parti- 
san responsibilities. 

Mr.  Barry's  testimony  on  this  as  well  as  upon  many  other 
points  is  very  strong,  but  too  long  to  be  transcribed  entire. 
For  our  present  purpose  we  prefer  to  quote  from  a  book 
prepared  by  Dr.  Helen  L.  Sumner,  a  woman  suffragist,  who 
spent  two  years  in  Colorado  at  the  request  of  an  Equal 
suffrage  association  in  New  York,  to  prepare  a  true  and 
unbiased  account  of  the  effect  of  suffrage  upon  the  individual 
and  society.  Her  statement  of  facts  coincides  so  generally 
with  that  of  Mr.  Barry,  that  if  her  individual  theories  and 
conclusions  were  cut  out  of  it,  the  book  might  almost  as 
well  be  used  as  anti-suffrage  as  suffrage  campaign  literature. 

Dr.  Sumner  says  (page  258),  speaking  of  ,the  woman 
vote,  "Its  effect  upon  party  politics  has  been  slight."  "In 
1906  a  woman  sat  through  the  sessions  of  one  of  the  long 
tedious  conventions  in  Denver  with  a  nine-weeks-old  baby 
in  her  arms.  Neither  she  nor  her  husband  believed  in  wom- 
an suffrage  but  her  husband  held  a  political  position."  She 
also  quotes,  with  apparent  approval,  "Woman's  sense  of 
honor  has  been  blunted,"  "Women  have  been  made  bolder 
and  more  self  assertive."  A  county  chairman  over  his  own 
signature  testified  "In  the  last  campaign  women  who  sold 
their  influence  agreed  to  work  for  both  parties  for  cash — the 
highest  price  paid  $25,  lowest  $5.  I  myself  bought  one  wom- 
an for  $10  when  the  Democrats  bought  her  for  $15,  and  we 
have  her  endorsement  on  both  checks."  There  are  many 
pages  in  Dr.  Sumner's  book  which  strikingly  confirm  Mr. 
Barry's  statements. 

Uplift  in  Morals  Consequent   Upon   Woman  Suffrage 

As  regards  the  boasted  improvement  in  morals  consequent 
upon  the  woman's  vote,  in  a  table  of  statistics,  gathered 
from  public  sources  in  Colorado,  where  women  have  voted 
since  1896.  Mr.  Barry  shows  conclusively  that  there  has 
been  a  steady  decline  in  the  morals  of  the  states  of  Idaho, 
Utah,  Wyoming  and  Colorado  in  regard  to  marriage  and 
divorce  since  they  were  admitted  to  suffrage.  Illiteracy  is 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  143 

much  greater  and  the  care  of  children  much  less,  as  indicated 
by  the  alarming  increase  in  juvenile  crime  in  a  state  where 
the  Juvenile  Court  only  recently  established,  takes  rank 
over  the  mother  and  home.  All  these  are  matters  in  which 
women  might  be  supposed  to  be  specially  interested,  but 
these  states  fall  far  behind  in  morals,  the  most  advanced  of 
the  non-suffrage  states.  Every  page  of  this  article,  which  is 
in  fact  a  report  fortified  by  undeniable  statistics,  is  so  full 
of  evidence  of  the  demoralizing  effect  of  woman  suffrage, 
that  it  needs  to  be  read  to  be  appreciated. 

Woman  does  not  need  the  ballot  to  make  her  equal  with 
man.  If  she  faithfully  performs  the  duties  which  nature 
lays  upon  her,  and  upon  her  alone,  she  is  not  only  his  equal, 
but  more  than  his  equal.  It  is  as  the  mother  of  men  that 
she  reigns  supreme.  To  lower  this  attitude  by  claiming  for 
her  a  material  equality  is  to  reduce  her  from  a  powerful  and 
beneficent  necessity,  to  a  weak  and  lamentable  copy  of  the 
original  type  from  which  she  was  so  wisely  and  beneficently 
segregated. 

As  a  proof  that  without  the  ballot  women  are  to  a  good 
degree  and  increasingly,  fulfilling  this  intention,  we  instance 
the  progress  which  has  been  made  during  the  last  decade  in 
the  pursuits  of  the  domestic  arts  and  sciences,  in  the  care 
and  proper  upbringing  of  children,  in  the  regulation  of  the 
hygienic  and  moral  conditions  in  our  schools,  and  in  bringing 
to  light  and  commenting  upon  the  evil  and  vicious  social 
theories,  which  have  so  long  hidden  themselves  from  the 
public  view,  and  many  other  needed  and  valuable  reforms. 
In  all  these  lines  of  progress  women  have  been  either  the 
originators  of  public  beneficence,  or  its  faithful  and  untiring 
helpers. 

The  public  part  of  this  work  has  not  been,  could  not  have 
been  done  by  the  universal  suffrage  of  all  women,  young  and 
old,  wise  and  foolish,  indifferent  and  thoughtful,  as  it  has 
been  done  by  voluntary  or  appointed  officials,  chosen  from 
the  ranks  of  tried  and  experienced  women,  upon  whose 
judgment  and  unselfishness  the  public  has  learned  to  rely, 
and  the  reason  that  as  a  rule  they  stand  higher  in  the  world's 


144  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

estimation  than  the  average  man,  is  that  they  do  not  repre- 
sent the  universal  element  of  politics,  but  are,  in  them- 
selves a  selected  and  specialized  class,  peculiarly  fitted  in  the 
eyes  of  the  public,  for  the  duties  to  which  they  are  appointed. 

Why  the  Home  Makers  Do  Not  Want  to  Vote 

The  independent  position  of  American  women  in  the 
home  and  society  is  the  wonder  of  Europe.  Scarcely  an  in- 
telligent foreigner,  man  or  woman,  who  come,s  to  us,  but 
expresses  this  astonishment.  The  burdens  which  nature  puts 
upon  women  everywhere,  they  bear  in  common  with  their 
sex,  but  under  circumstances  of  such  freedom,  homage  and 
chivalrous  respect  as  obtain  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  Their 
lights,  privileges  and  immunities  as  faithful  wives  and  moth- 
ers, although  they  may  not  attain  to  the  perfect  ideal,  are 
nevertheless  beyond  what  any  other  body  of  women  enjoy. 

The  history  of  American  legislation  proves  that  for  fifty 
years  or  more  men  have  been  busy,  often  quite  of  their  own 
unsolicited  good-will,  in  improving  the  legal  status  of  women 
in  matters  of  property  rights,  inheritance  rights  and  the 
custody  of  their  children.  And  these  prerogatives  extend 
far  beyond  woman's  immediate  social  and  domestic  sphere. 
It  is  the  testimony  of  many  excellent  women  workers  in 
philanthropic  enterprises,  both  public  and  private,  that  when 
legal  aid  is  necessary  in  carrying  out  their  plans  for  the  well 
being  of  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  if  they  go  to  the  legisla- 
tures as  women,  not  as  politicians  working  in  connection 
with  any  political  party,  they  have  no  difficulty  in  gaining 
their  ends;  while  as  members  of  opposing  parties  their  bills 
would  be  held  up  session  after  session.  Thoughtful  women 
who  are  engaged  in  the  highest  enterprises  of  womanhood, 
home  making  and  soul  building,  the  work  of  social  ameliora- 
tion, and  the  care  of  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  cannot  see 
how  they  would  be  the  gainers  by  possessing  the  ballot. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  145 

Talk  to  Women  on  the  Suffrage  Question. 
Emily  P.  Bissell. 

There  are  three  points  of  view  from  which  woman  to- 
day ought  to  consider  herself — as  an  individual,  as  a  member 
of  a  family,  as  a  member  of  the  state.  Every  woman  stands 
in  those  three  relations  to  American  life.  Every  woman's 
duties  and  rights  cluster  along  those  three  lines;  and  any 
change  in  woman's  status  that  involves  all  of  them  needs 
to  be  very  carefully  considered  by  every  thoughtful  woman. 

The  proposal  that  women  should  vote  affects  each  one  of 
these  three  relations  deeply.  It  is  then  a  propsal  that  the 
American  woman  has  been  considering  for  sixty  years, 
without  accepting  it.  Other  questions,  which  have  been  only 
individual,  as  the  higher  education  for  such  individual  women 
as  desire  it.  or  the  opening  of  various  trades  and  profes- 
sions to  such  individual  women  as  desirei  to  enter  them  have 
not  required  any  such  thought  or  hesitation.  They  are  in- 
dividual, and  individuals  have  decided  on  them  and  accepted 
them.  But  this  great  suffrage  question,  involving  not  only 
the  individual,  but  the  family  and  the  state,  has  hung  fire. 
There  are  grave  objections  to  woman  suffrage  on  all  these 
three  counts.  Sixty  years  of  argument  and  of  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  suffragists  have  not  in  the  least  changed  these 
arguments,  because  they  rest  on  the  great  fundamental  facts 
of  human  nature  and  of  human  government.  The  suffrage 
is  "a  reform  against  nature"  and  such  reforms  are  worse 
than  valueless. 

Let  us  take  these  three  points  of  view  singly.  Why,  in 
the  first  place,  is  the  vote  a  mistake  for  women  as  individ- 
uals? I  will  begin  discussing  that  by  another  question. 
"How  many  of  you  have  leisure  to  spare  now,  without  the 
vote?"  The  claims  upon  a  woman's  time,  in  this  twentieth 
century,  are  greater  than  ever  before.  Woman,  in  her  prog- 
ress, has  taken  up  many  important  things  to  deal  with,  and 
has  already  overloaded  herself  beyond  her  strength.  If  she 
is  a  working-woman,  her  day  is  full — fuller  than  that  of  a 
workingman,  since  she  has  to  attend,  in  many  cases,  to  home 


146  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

duties  or  to  sewing  and  mending  for  herself  when  her  day's 
toil  is  over.  If  she  is  a  wife  and  mother,  she  has  her  hands 
full  with  the  house  and  the  children.  If  she  is  a  woman  of 
affairs  and  charities,  she  has  to  keep  a  secretary  or  call  in  a 
stenographer  to  get  through  her  letters  and  accounts.  Most 
of  the  self-supporting  women  of  my  acquaintance  do  not 
want  the  ballot.  They  have  no  time  to  think  about  it. 
Most  of  the  wives  and  mothers  I  know  do  not  want  to  vote. 
They  are  too  busy  with  other  burdens.  Most  of  the  women 
of  affairs  I  know  do  not  want  to  vote.  They  are  doing 
public  work  without  it  better  than  they  could  with  it,  and  ^ 
consider  it  a  burden,  not  a  benefit.  The  ballot  is  a  duty,  a 
responsibility;  and  most  intelligent,  active  women  to-day 
believe  that  it  is  man's  duty  and  responsibility,  and  that  they 
are  not  called  to  take  it  up  in  addition  to  their  own  share. 
The  suffragists  want  the  ballot  individually.  They  have  a  - 
perfect  right  to  want  it.  They  ask  no  leisure.  And  if  it 
were  only  an  individual  question,  then  I  should  say  heartily 
"Let  them  have  it,  as  individuals,  and  let  us  refuse  to  take 
it,  as  individuals,  and  then  the  whole  matter  can  be  indi- 
vidually settled."  But  that  is  impossible,  for  there  are  two 
other  aspects.  The  suffragists  cannot  get  the  vote  without 
forcing  it  on  all  the  rest  of  womankind  in  America;  for 
America  means  unrestricted  manhood  suffrage,  and  an  equal 
suffrage  law  would  mean  unrestricted  womanhood  suffrage, 
from  the  college  girl  to  the  immigrant  woman  who  cannot 
read  and  the  negro  woman  in  the  cotton-field,  and  from  the 
leader  of  society  down  to  the  drunken  woman  in  the  police 
court.  The  individual  aspect  is  only  one  of  the  three,  and 
after  all,  the  least  important. 

For  no  good  woman  lives  to  herself.  She  has  always 
been  part  of  a  family  as  wife  or  sister  or  daughter  from  the 
time  of  Eve.  .  .  .  The  American  home  is  the  founda- 
tion of  American  strength  and  progress.  And  in  the  Ameri- 
can home  woman  has  her  own  place  and  her  own  duty,  to 
the  family. 

It  is  an  axiom  in  physics  that  two  things  cannot  be  in  the 
same  place  at  the  same  time.  Woman,  as  an  individual. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  147 

apart  from  all  home  ties,  can  easily  enough  get  into  a  man's 
place.  There  are  thousands  of  women  in  New  York  to-day — 
business  women,  professional  women,  working  girls,  who  are 
almost  like  men  in  their  daily  activity.  But  nearly  all  these 
women  marry  and  leave  the  man's  place  for  the  woman's, 
after  a  few  years  of  business  life.  It  is  this  fact  which 
makes  their  wages  lower  than  men's,  and  keeps  them  from 
being  a  highly  skilled  class.  They  go  back  into  the  home, 
and  take  up  a  woman's  duties  in  the  family.  If  they  are 
wise  women,  they  give  up  their  work;  they  do  not  try  to  be 
in  a  man's  place  and  a  woman's  too.  But  when  they  do 
make  this  foolish  resolve  to  keep'  on  working  the  home 
suffers.  There  are  no  children;  or  the  children  go  untrained; 
housekeeping  is  given  up  for  boarding;  there  is  no  family 
atmosphere.  The  woman's  place  is  vacant — and  in  a  family, 
that  is  the  most  important  place  of  all.  The  woman,  who 
might  be  a  woman,  is  half  a  man  instead. 

The  family  demands  from  a  woman  her  very  best.  Her 
highest  interests,  and  her  unceasing  care,  must  be  in  home 
life,  if  her  home  is  to  be  what  it  ought  to  be.  Here  is 
where  the  vote  for  woman  comes  in  as  a  disturbing  factor. 
The  vote  is  part  of  man's  work.  Ballot-box,  cartridge  box, 
jury  box,  sentry  box.  all  go  together  in  his  part  of  life. 
Woman  cannot  step  in  and  take  the  responsibilities  and 
duties  of  voting  without  assuming  his  place  very  largely. 
The  vote  is  a  symbol  of  government,  and  leads  at  once  into 
the  atmosphere  of  politics;  to  make  herself  an  intelligent 
voter  (and  no  other  kind  is  wanted)  a  woman  must  study 
up  the  subjects  on  which  she  is  to  vote  and  cast  her  ballot 
with  a  personal  knowledge  of  current  politics  in  every  de- 
tail. She  must  take  it  all  from  her  husband,  which  means 
that  he  is  thus  given  two  votes  instead  of  one,  not  equal 
suffrage,  but  a  double  suffrage  for  the  man. 

Home  is  meant  to  be  a  restful  place,  not  agitated  by  the 
turmoil  of  outside  struggles.  It  is  man's  place  to  support 
and  defend  the  family,  and  so  to  administer  the  state  that 
the  family  shall  flourish  in  peace.  He  is  the  outside  worker. 
Woman  is  the  one  whose  place  it  is  to  bear  and  rear  the 


148  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

children  who  shall  later  be  the  citizens  of  the  state.  As  I 
have  shown,  she  can,  if  she  wishes,  go  into  man's  place  in 
the  world  for  awhile.  But  man  can  never  go  into  hers. 
(That  proves  she  is  superior,  by  the  way.)  He  cannot  create 
the  home.  He  is  too  distracted  by  outside  interests,  too 
tired  with  his  own  duties,  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  home. 
The  woman  who  makes  the  mistake  of  trying  to  do  his 
work  and  hers  too,  cannot  create1;  a  home  atmosphere,  either. 
She  cannot  be  in  two  places  at  once.  I  have  known  even 
one  outside  charity  become  so  absorbing  in  its  demands  on 
a  woman's  time  and  thought  that  her  children  felt  the  dif- 
ference, and  knew  and  dreaded  the  day  of  the  monthly  meet- 
ing, and  the  incessant  call  of  the  telephone.  There  are  cer- 
tain times  in  a  wife  and  mother's  life,  such  as  children's 
illnesses,  the  need  of  care  for  an  over-worked  husband,  the 
crisis  of  some  temptation  or  wrong  tendency  in  a  child's 
life,  and  so  on,  when  all  outside  interests  must  abdicate  be- 
fore the  family  ones,  and  be  shut  out  for  awhile.  The  vote, 
which  means  public  life,  does  not  fit  into  the  ideal  of  family 
life.  The  woman  who  is  busy  training  a  family  is  doing  her 
public  service  right  in  the  home.  She  cannot  be  expected  to 
be  in  two  places  at  the  same  time,  doing  the  work  of  the 
state  as  the  man  does. 

The  individualism  of  woman,  in  these  modern  days,  is  a- 
threat  to  the  family.  There  is  one  divorce  in  America  nowa- 
days to  every  dozen  marmges.  There  are  thousands  of 
young  women  who  crowd,  into  factory  or  mill  or  office  in 
preference  to  home  duties.  There  is  an  impatience  of  ties 
and  responsibilities,  a  restlessness,  a  fever  for  "living  one's 
own  life,"  that  is  unpleasantly  noticeable.  The  desire  for  the 
vote  is  part  of  this  restlessness,  this  grasping  for  power  that 
shall  have  no  responsibility  except  to  drop  a  paper  into  a 
ballot  box,  this  ignorant  desire  to  do  "the  work  of  the 
world"  instead  of  one's  own  appointed  work.  If  women  had 
conquered  their  own  part  of  life  perfectly,  one  might  wish  to 
see  them  thus  leave  it  and  go  forth  to  set  the  world  to 
rights.  But  on  the  contrary,  never  were  domestic  conditions 
so  badly  attended  to.  Until  woman  settles  the  servant 
question,  how  can  she  ask  to  run  the  government? 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  149 

This  brings  us  to  the  third  point,  which  is,  the  effect  on 
the  state  of  a  vote  for  women.  Let  us  keep  in  mind,  always, 
that  in  America  we  cannot  argue  about  municipal  suffrage, 
or  taxpaying  suffrage,  or  limited  suffrage  of  any  kind — "to 
one  end  they  must  all  come"  that  of  unrestricted  woman 
suffrage,  white  and  colored,  illiterate  and  collegebred  alike 
having  the  ballot.  America  recognizes  no  other  way.  Do 
not  get  the  mistaken  idea — which  the  suffragists  cleverly 
present  all  the  while  that  the  English  system  of  municipal 
or  restricted  suffrage,  or  the  Danish  system,  or  any  other 
system,  is  like  ours.  It  is  not.  Other  countries  have  re- 
stricted forms  of  suffrage  by  which  individual  women  can 
be  sorted  out,  so  to  speak.  But  America  has  equal  man- 
hood suffrage  ingrained  in  her  very  state,  in  her  very  law. 
Once  begin  to  give  the  suffrage  to  women,  and  there  is  but 
one  end  in  this  country.  The  question  is  always  with  us, 
"What  effect  will  unrestricted  female  suffrage  have  on  the 
state?"  We  must  answer  that  question  or  beg  the  subject. 

One  thing  sure — the  women's  vote  would  be  an  indifferent 
one.  The  majority  of  women  do  not  want  to  vote — even  the 
suffragists  acknowledge  that.  Therefore,  if  given  the  vote, 
they  would  not  be  eager  voters.  There  would  be  a  number 
of  highly  enthusiastic  suffrage  voters — for  a  whole.  But  when 
the  coveted  privilege  became  a  commonplace,  or  even  an  irk- 
some duty,  the  stay-at-home  vote  would  grow  larger  and 
larger.  The  greatest  trouble  in  politics  to-day  is  the  indif- 
ferent vote  among  men.  Equal  suffrage  would  add  a  larger 
indifferent  vote  among  women. 

Then  there  is  the  corrupt  vote  to-day.  Among  men  it  is 
bad  enough.  But  among  women  it  would  be  much  worse. 
What,  for  example,  would  the  Tenderloin  woman's  vote  be 
in  New  York?  for  good  measures  and  better  city  politics? 
In  Denver,  it  has  been  found  to  work  just  as  might  be  sup- 
posed, and  in  Denver  the  female  ward  politician  appeared 
full-fledged  in  the  Shafroth  case,  in  the  full  swing  of  bribery 
and  fraud.  Unrestricted  suffrage  must  reckon  with  all 
kinds  of  women,  you  see — and  the  unscrupulous  woman  will 
use  her  vote  for  what  it  is  worth  and  for  corrupt  ends. 


150  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

Today,  without  the  vote,  the  women  who  are  intelligent 
and  interested  in  public  affairs  use  their  ability  and  influence 
for  good  measures.  And  the  indifferent  woman  does  not 
matter.  The  unscrupulous  woman  has  no  vote.  We  get 
the  best,  and  bar  out  the  rest.  The  state  gets  all  the  bene- 
fit of  its  best  women,  and  none  of  the  danger  from  its  worst 
women.  The  situation  is  too  beneficial  to  need  any  change 
in  the  name  of  progress.  We  have  now  two  against  one, 
a  fine  majority,  the  good  men  and  the  good  women  against 
the  unscrupulous  men.  Equal  suffrage  would  make  it  two  to 
two — the  good  men  and  the  good  women  against  the  un- 
scrupulous men  and  the  unscrupulous  women — a  tie  vote 
between  good  and  evil  instead  of  a  safe  majority  for  good. 

Then,  beside  the  indifferent  vote  and  the  corrupt  vote, 
there  would  be,  in  equal  suffrage,  a  well-meaning,  unorgan- 
ized vote.  But  government  is  not.  run  in  America  by  un- 
organized votes — it  is  run  by  organized  parties.  To  get 
results,  one  vote  is  absurd.  An  effectual  vote  means  organ- 
ization; and  organization  means  primaries  and  conventions, 
and  caucuses  and  office-holding,  and  work,  and  work,  and 
more  work.  A  ballot  dropped  in  a  box  is  not  government, 
or  power.  This  is  what  men  are  fighting  out  in  politics, 
and  we  women  ought  to  understand  their  problem.  One 
reason  that  I,  personally — do  not  want  the  ballot  is  that  I 
have  been  brought  up,  in  the  middle  of  politics  in  a  state 
that  is  full  of  them,  and  I  know  the  labor  they  entail  on 
public-spirited  men.  Politics,  to  me,  does  not  mean  un- 
earned power,  or  the  registering  of  one's  opinion  on  public 
affairs — it  means  hard  work,  incessant  organization  and^  com- 
bination, continual  perseverance  against  disappointment  and 
betrayal,  steadfast  effort  for  small  and  hard-fought  advance. 
I  have  seen  too  many  friends  and  relatives  in  that  battle  to 
want  to  push  any  woman  into  it.  And  unless  one  goes  into 
the  battle  the  ballot  is  of  no  force.  The  suffragists  do  not 
expect  to.  They  expect  and  urge — that  all  that  will  be  neces- 
sary will  be  for  each  woman  to  "register  her  opinion"  and 
cast  her  ballot  and  go  home. 

Where  would  the  state  be  then — with  an  indifferent  vote.. 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  151 

a  corrupt  vote,  and  a  helpless,  unorganized  vote,  loaded  on 
to  its  present  political  difficulties?  Where  would  the  state  be 
with  a  doubled  negro  vote  in  the  Black  Belt?  Where  would 
New  York  and  Chicago  be  with  a  doubled  immigrant  vote? 
I  have  two  friends,  sisters,  one  of  them  living  in  Utah,  the 
other  in  Colorado — both  suffrage  states.  The  one  in  Colo- 
rado belongs  to  the  indifferent  vote.  She  is  too  busy  to 
vote,  and  doesn't  believe  in  it  anyhow.  The  one  in  Utah 
goes  to  the  polls  regularly,  not  because  she  wants  to  vote, 
but  because  as  she  says  "The  Mormons  vote  all  their  women 
solidly,  and  we  Gentiles  have  to  vote  as  a  duty — and  how  we 
wish  we  were  back  again  under  manhood  suffrage."  Is  the 
state  benefited  by  an  unwilling  electorate  such  as  thaf? 


Outlook.  97:  143-4.  January  28,  1911. 
Women  Voters'  Views  on  Woman's  Suffrage. 

No  one  expects  woman's  suffrage  to  be  refused  in  any 
country  where  popular  self-government  prevails  whenever 
the  majority  of  women  themselves  make  it  clear  that  they 
desire  to  vote.  Heretofore  the  greatest  obstacle  to  woman's 
suffrage  has  been  the  indifference  of  women  themselves.  To 
those  who  advocate  the  bestowal  of  the  ballot  upon  women 
whether  they  wish  it  or  not  this  indifference  has  been  par- 
ticularly irritating,  because  they  feel  that  such  indifference 
cannot  be  overcome  until  women  themselves  experience  the 
exhilaration  of  voting.  A  news  item  in  the  London  "Times," 
however,  indicates  that  even  the  experience  of  dropping  bal- 
lots into  a  box  does  not  necessarily  convert  women  to  the 
view  that  it  is  their  duty  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  suffrage. 
According  to  this  item,  the  Women's  national  anti-suffrage 
league  has  made  a  canvass  of  women  who  have  the  franchise 
in  municipal  elections.  It  has  inquired  of  them  whether  they 
were  in  favor  of  extending  their  duties  to  include  political 
franchise.  For  this  purpose,  districts  were  selected  repre- 
senting a  variety  of  population — typical  of  London,  of  large 
provincial  cities,  of  country  towns,  and  of  agricultural  vil- 


152  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

lages.  Of  the  total  number,  2,520  expressed  themselves  as 
being  in  favor  of  "votes  for  women,"  and  9,845  opposed. 
The  account  in  the  London  "Times"  does  not  state  the  total 
number  of  those  who  were  neutral  or  who  failed  to  answer 
the  inquiries;  in  North  Berks,  it  reports,  however,  that  out 
of  a  municipal  electorate  of  1,291  women,  1,085  were  opposed 
to  the  extension  of  the  franchise.  In  Bristol,  out  of  an  elect- 
orate of  over  7,000,  less  than  900  were  in  favor  of  the  suf- 
frage. Almost  2,000,  on  the  other  hand,  were  neutral,  over 
1,000  did  not  even  reply,  and  over  3,000  expressed  their  op- 
position. 

Woman  Suffrage  and  Child  Labor  Legislation,  pp.  5-7. 

Mr.  Owen  Lovejoy,  Secretary  of  the  National  child  labor 
committee,  in  his  report  of  the  proceedings  at  Birmingham, 
Alabama  in  March,  1911  says: 

"The  States  which  do  not  require  proof  of  the  child's  age 
or  at  least  any  proof  worthy  the  name  are  Colorado,  Florida, 
Louisiana.  Nevada,  South  Dakota,  Texas,  Utah,  Virginia, 
Wyoming,  Alabama,  Arkansas.  Georgia,  Idaho,  Wisconsin, 
Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 

"Our  agents  have  frequently  found  eight,  nine  and  ten 
year  old  boys  applying  for  work  in  these  states  upon  affida- 
vits certifying  them  to  be  fourteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age. 

"When  we  lay  upon  the  greedy  parent  the  temptation  to 
deceive  in  order  to  secure  employment  for  a  child  we  are 
guilty  of  placing  the  burden  upon  the  weak,  where  it  does 
not  belong  and  promoting  perjury  by  process  of  law." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  four  equal  suffrage  states  are 
all  in  Mr.  Lovejoy's  list.  The  truth  is  that  the  suffrage 
states,  far  from  being  in  the  van  of  remedial  legislation  for 
children,  have  been  laggards  in  the  work.  Not  one  of  them 
has  been  a  pioneer  in  the  movement,  but  they  have  always 
followed  the  lead  of  other  states  in  child  labor  laws  and 
usually  long  after  these  laws  have  been  incorporated  in  tfie 
statutes  of  adjoining  states. 

The  Juvenile  court  law  of  Colorado  is  deservedly  famous 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  153 

but  it  was  not  the  first  court  of  its  kind  established  in  the 
United  States.  The  law  establishing  a  juvenile  court  in 
Illinois  was  passed  some  time  before  the  Colorado  law  and  its 
features  were  practically  the  same.  It  was  the  Juvenile 
court  law  of  Illinois  that  formed  the  basis  for  the  Colorado 
law,  and  Chicago  had  a  juvenile.court  some  years  before  the 
Denver  court  was  established. 

The  National  child  labor  committee  has  prepared  a  model 
child  labor  law  for  uniform  legislation.     It  has  followed  the 
principle  of  embodying  in  the  text  the  best  provisions  con- 
tained in  the  laws  of  the  various  states.     The  bill  contains 
49  sections  and  the  following   table   shows   the   number   of 
these  model  provisions  already  enacted  in  the  suffrage  states, 
and  those   of   similar   locality  and   conditions.     Of   49   pro- 
visions of  this  model  law  we  find  the  law  of — 
Wyoming  contains  none 
Idaho  contains  none 
Colorado  contains  7 
Utah  contains  8 
California  contains  12 
Oregon  contains  14 
Oklahoma  contains  15 
North  Dakota  contains  15 
Minnesota  contains  20 
Nebraska  contains  25 
Wisconsin  contains  27 

These  facts  are  not  given  with  any  intention  of  disparag- 
ing the  work  of  the  four  equal  suffrage  states,  but  merely 
to  disprove  the  claim  of  the  suffragists  that  if  women  were 
given  the  ballot  they  would  bring  about  better  laws,  for 
the  protection  of  children  than  exist  under  male  suffrage. 
Neither  can  they  claim  that  the  inadequacies  of  the  law  are 
due  solely  to  the  conditions  of  life  and  labor  in  a  western 
and  chiefly  agricultural  community,  for  we  find  Montana, 
Nebraska,  Oregon  and  Oklahoma  with  better  provisions  and 
more  inclusive  laws. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley,  Secretary  of  the  National  consum- 
ers' league  says: — 


154  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

"It  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  the  state  with  the  most 
sweeping  provision  that  no  child  below  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  shall  be  employed  in  any  gainful  occupation  is  Mon- 
tana which  has  no  occasion  for  employing  children  except 
as  telegraph  or  messenger  boys  and  is  subject,  therefore  to 
less  temptation  than  the  r.est  of  us":  and  she  adds,  "next 
best  perhaps  after  Montana  comes  a  great  industrial  state." 

"In  Ohio  after  six  o'clock  at  night  no  girl  under  eighteen 
years  old  and  no  boy  under  sixteen  can  be  employed  in 
gainful  occupation.  If  we  take  down  the  receiver  of  a  tele- 
phone in  Cleveland  or  Cincinnati  at  night,  it  is  not  a  young 
girl's  voice  that  answers  any  more  than  it  would  be  in  New 
Orleans.  Louisiana  and  Ohio  share,  I  believe,  alone  the 
honor  due  to  their  humane  provision  that  all  night  work,  to 
which  elsewhere  we  are  so  cruelly  accustomed  shall  be  done 
not  by  young  girls,  not  by  any  young  person — a  boy  under 
16  or  a  girl  under  18  years  old — but  by  older  people,  who  do 
not  suffer  so  cruelly  from  loss  of  sleep."  Would  women 
with  the  ballot  have  accomplished  more  for  child  labor  in 
these  states  than  they  have  accomplished  without  it?  The 
experience  of  equal  suffrage  states  disproves  it. 


Address  before  the  Brooklyn  Auxiliary,  April  30,  1909. 
Mrs.  A.  J.  George. 

Women  have  a  restricted  suffrage  in  India,  in  Cape 
Colony,  in  Italy,  in  Austro-Hungary,  even  in  Russia,  but  in 
each  of  these  instances  it  is  the  woman  who  holds  property 
who  votes  because  of  that  property  and  not  the  woman  who 
votes  because  of  her  need  of  representation  as  a  woman. 

In  1906  the  Czar  granted  adult  suffrage  for  the  men  and 
women  of  Finland  over  24  years  of  age,  and  in  the  present 
Diet  of  that  Province,  26  women  are  seated  out  of  a  total 
membership  of  200;  but  this  Diet  is  not  a  representative  as- 
sembly with  the  power  of  taking  initiative  in  legislation,  or 
enforcing  legislation.  Twice  a  week  for  about  three  months 
in  the  year,  the  members  meet  to  consider  laws  proposed  by 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  155 

the  Emperor.  The  Emperor  has  veto  power  on  all  its  acts, 
and  can  dissolve  the  Diet  at  his  will. 

Votes  for  women  is  apparently  not  what  the  French 
women  ask  for.  In  October,  1908,  for  the  first  time,  women 
as  well  as  men  employed  in  trade  and  business  had  by  a 
new  law  a  vote  for  the  election  of  "Conseils  de  Prudhommes" 
the  judge  of  special  commercial  courts.  The  returns  show 
that  only  24  per  1,000  women  availed  themselves  of  this 
new  privilege.  Moreover,  this  small  minority  consists  en- 
tirely of  female  clerks  employed  in  one  or  two  large  banks, 
whose  names  in  every  case  had  been  put  down  by  their 
employers  themselves.  Not  one  single  woman  engaged  in 
trade  had  taken  the  trouble  even  to  enter  her  name  in  the 
registers.  The  matter  is  an  important  one,  as  all  trade  dis- 
putes are  decided  by  that  tribunal.  Yet  up  to  date  exactly 
eight  women  in  France  have  put  their  names  down  on  the 
registers  out  of  the  thousands  who  are  principals  or  partners 
in  business  of  their  own  in  France,  where  there  are  probably 
more  trade  and  industrial  undertakings  in  feminine  hands 
than  in  any  other  country.  Perhaps  that  is  why  they  present 
a  sublime  indifference  to  the  suffrage. 

But  what  of  Norway,  Sweden  and  Denmark, — countries 
more  closely  allied  in  institutions  to  our  government?  A 
recent  suffrage  writer  names  Norway  as  a  country  where 
women  have  full  suffrage.  What  are  the  facts?  In  June, 
1907,  the  Storthings  rejected  a  bill  providing  for  universal 
suffrage,  but  adopted  a  bill  granting  women  the  parliamen- 
tary franchise  on  the  same  conditions  as  are  prescribed  in 
the  case  of  municipal  electors.  That  is,  all  women  over  25 
years  of  age  who  pay  taxes  on  an  income  (they  have  an 
income  tax  in  Norway)  enjoyed  by  themselves  or  husbands, 
have  the  vote.  Here  again  we  have  a  property  qualification 
and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  population  of  Norway  is 
one  of  common  origin,  a  homogeneous  people,  whose  prob- 
lem is  one  of  emigration  rather  than  of  immigration,  and  that 
the  entire  country  has  a  population  about  one-half  that  of 
New  York  City.  A  year  after  this  limited  parliamentary 
franchise  was  granted  to  women  in  Norway,  a  bill  was 


156  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

passed  providing  that  wives  travelling  with  their  husbands 
shall  be  charged  only  one-half  fare.  Will  our  suffrage  friends 
make  this  as  the  next  move,  if  once  they  obtain  the  ballot 
here  in  the  United  States? 

In  April,  1908,  Denmark  gave  a  communal  vote  to  women, 
with  qualifications  similar  to  those  in  Norway;  that  is, 
"females  over  25  years  of  age,  who  are  tax-payers  or  the 
wives  of  tax-payers,  are  entitled  to  vote."  On  March  i2th 
last,  for  the  first  time,  women  of  Denmark  exercised  this 
franchise.  A  writer  in  the  New  York  Sun  says  that  "half 
the  city  voters  in  the  new  franchise  are  women  and  they 
seemed  to  dominate  the  election.  There  were  crowds  of 
women  around  the  polling  booths  before  they  opened. 
Shelters  were  specially  provided  for  children-laden  perambu- 
lators while  the  mothers  voted.  They  were  largely  patron- 
ized." 

Queen  Louise  of  Denmark,  in  addressing  the  women 
employees  of  a  great  millinery  establishment,  urged  these 
women  to  use  their  right  to  vote,  and  said:  "When  women 
have  secured  the  suffrage,  they  should  use  it."  A  claim 
anti-suffragists  have  always  urged  when  they  were  told  that 
only  those  need  use  the  ballot  who  wished  so  to  do.  Den- 
mark, like  Norway,  has  a  homogeneous  people,  and  a  gov- 
ernment so  free  from  corruption  as  to  amaze  visiting  Ameri- 
cans. The  population  of  the  entire  kingdom  is  less  than  the 
population  of  the  city  of  Paris.  Norway  and  Denmark  to- 
gether scarcely  equal  the  population  of  New  York  City  and 
Boston.  These  comparisons  will  point  the  way  to  a  very 
careful  consideration  of  how  far  the  success  of  woman  suf- 
frage in  communities  so  unlike  our  own  can  be  taken  as  a 
proof  that  this  "revolutionary  change"  as  Mr.  Gladstone 
called  full  suffrage  for  women,  is  desirable  in  our  country. 

Many  interesting  speakers  have  come  to  us  from  England 
recently;  some  of  them  have  admitted  that  woman's  condi- 
tion here  without  the  ballot  is  so  superior  to  the  condition 
of  women  in  England  that  were  they  citizens  of  this  country, 
they  would  hesitate  to  ask  for  the  ballot  lest  they  by  so  doing 
exchange  substance  for  shadow.  Many  of  these  speakers, 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  157 

however,  urge  American  women  to  work  for  the  suffrage 
because  in  England  women  are  admitted  to  all  save  the  Par- 
liamentary franchise;  because  in  Australia  women  have  been 
recently  given  the  Federal  franchise,  and  in  the  colonies  of 
the  Australian  commonwealth  for  many  years  had  some 
form  of  suffrage,  albeit  usually  with  a  rate-paying  qualifica- 
tion. There  is  little  reason  why  the  United  States  should 
follow  the  doubtful  action  of  a  remote  English  colony. 
There  are  perhaps  a  million  enfranchised  women  in  the 
Australian  federation;  (this  includes  the  women  of  Victoria, 
who  were  empowered  in  November,  1908,  to  vote  at  state 
elections)  this  number  is  not  equal  to  the  foreign-born  popu- 
lation of  the  city  of  New  York,  while  Australia  has  an  area 
equal  to  that  of  the  entire  United  States,  leaving  out  Alaska. 
Goldwin  Smith  has  called  Australia  "the  paradise  of  experi- 
ment." This  experiment  of  municipal  suffrage  for  women 
calls  forth  no  higher  praise  from  one  of  its  staunchest  ad- 
vocates than  this:  "Neither  the  fears  of  its  opponents  nor 
the  hopes  of  its  friends  have  been  realized;  there  has  been 
no  conspicuous  advance  traceable  to  this  cause  in  dealing 
with  such  matters  as  gambling,  impurity,  intemperance,  or 
Sabbath  desecration." 

New  Zealand  has  had  woman  suffrage  now  in  municipal 
and  general  elections  for  16  years,  and  we  are  told  to  look 
at  New  Zealand  if  we  would  see  how  woman  suffrage  works, 
as  if  Macaulay's  New  Zealander  were  already  sitting  on  the 
ruined  arch  of  London  Bridge.  Mr.  Reeves  in  1900  said 
that  woman  suffrage  had  been  a  negative  success  in  New 
Zealand,  not  altering  the  results  of  elections;  and  he  also 
said  that  he  could  not  imagine  woman  suffrage  operating 
for  good  here  where  we  have  so  large  a  proportion  of  illiter- 
acy. In  Massachusetts  there  are  30.000  illiterate  men  out  of 
550,000  voters,  not  quite  9  per  cent.  The  proportion  of 
illiterate  women  would  be  as  great.  But  in  New  Zealand 
less  than  i  per  cent  of  the  population  is  illiterate.  New 
Zealand's  distress  because  of  financial  difficulties,  her  loss  in 
population,  her  many  communistic  theories,  are  slow  in  prov- 
ing that  woman  suffrage  has  been  of  help  in  that  country. 


158  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

J.  Grattan  Grey,  an  inhabitant  of  Australasia  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  and  competent  to  speak  of  the  conditions 
there,  writes  as  follows  of  women  suffrage  in  New  Zealand: 
"Not  only  has  it  not  fulfilled  any  of  the  improving  and  refin- 
ing services  which  were  claimed  for  it,  when  the  measure 
was  brought  before  Parliament,  but  as  an  absolute  fact, 
public  and  political  life  and  the  personnel  of  Parliament  itself 
have  degenerated  to  a  most  deplorable  degree  ever  since  the 
introduction  of  female  franchise  at  parliamentary  elections  in 
that  country." 

Turning  to  England,  we  find  that  no  woman  has  the 
parliamentary  vote  and  as  the  scope  of  parliamentary  legisla- 
tion includes  all  that  is  delegated  in  this  country  to  our  state 
as  well  as  to  our  national  assemblies,  plus  something  >of 
municipal  legislation,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  left  a  por- 
tion only  of  .municipal  suffrage  as  that  term  is  generally  un- 
derstood here.  Municipal  suffrage  for  women  as  petitioned 
for  in  this  country  is  not  like  municipal  suffrage  as  exer- 
cised by  women  in ,  Great  Britain  or  anywhere  else.  Mr. 
Albert  Shaw  in  his  volume  on  Municipal  government  in 
Great  Britain  says:  "Every  woman  who  is  at  the  head  of  a 
family, — that  is,  has  no  husband  to  act  for  her,  or  is  at  the 
head  of  a  business,  .and  pays  up  to  a  prescribed  rate  of  tax, — 
is  given  the  right  to  vote  for  municipal  officers  and  also  for 
parish  officers."  Under  the  local  government  act  of  1894 
married. as  well  as  single  women  are  allowed  to  vote  for  or 
be  chosen  as  parish  counsellors,  guardians  or  district  coun- 
sellors, or  as  members  of  London  vestries  and  district  boards, 
positions  practically  equivalent  to  membership  on  our  boards 
of  philanthropy  and  education.  In  1907,  the  Campbell-Ban- 
nerman  government  by  the  Woman's  qualification  act  granted 
the  right  to  serve  on  all  local  government  bodies  to  all 
qualified  women,  the  qualifications  being  almost  the  same  as 
for  men.  Outside  of  London  no  married  woman — that  is,  no 
woman  whose  husband'  is  living,  can  vote  or  serve  on  a 
town  or  county  council,  but  in  London  there  is  no  such 
disqualification.  The  London  Times,  under  date  of  Sep- 
tember 6,  1907,  fittingly  says: /'The  position  of  woman  and 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  159 

local  government  was  so  confusing  and  illogical  that  only  an 
expert  could  distinguish  the  bodies  on  which  a  woman ,could 
sit  from  those  for  which  she  was  ineligible;  and  the  voting 
qualification  (which,  it  is,  hoped,  will  be  dealt  with  in  a  later 
bill)  is  even  more  confusing.  Married  women  may  vote  for 
some  councils,  but  not  for  all,  while  the  qualified  widow  or 
spinster, may  vote  for  one  and  all."  The  act  of  1907  did 
not  make  possible  a  new  and  untried  experiment,  but  was 
passed  as  the  logical  simplification  of  a  most  confused  con- 
dition which  had  become  too  chaotic  to  endure.  The  present 
law  operates  to  make  women  poor  law  guardians,  to  give 
them  positions  dealing  with  educational  matters,  and  in  gen- 
eral to  enable  them  to  devote  themselves  not  to  men's  work 
but  to  the  occupations  for  which  they  are  especially  fitted, 
to  fill  positions  which  women  in  our  country  have  held 
with  great,  benefit  to  the  community,  as  overseers  of  the 
poor,  on  boards  of  schools,  hospitals,  libraries  and  in  those 
larger  domesticities  which  are  akin  to  domestic  life.  When 
women  of  England  go  beyond,  this  and  demand  the  Parlia- 
mentary vote,  the  leading  woman  of  their  country,  Mrs. 
Humphry  Ward,  writes  "let  us  in  the  name  of  common 
sense  leave  to  men  the  franchise  which  determines  war  and 
peace,  diplomacy  and  finance,  and  those  vast  industrial  affairs 
which  are  exclusively  masculine — the  franchise  which  elects 
President  and  Congress,  and  puts  a  British  Prime  Minister 
in  power."  That  great  constructive  genius  of  this  genera- 
tion, Earl  Cromer,  the  maker  of  modern  Egypt,  heads  the 
movement  among  English  men  to  keep  women  from  the 
imperial  franchise,  and  associated  with  him  are(  Baron  Listen, 
Frederic  Harrison,  Rudyard  Kipling  and  many  others. 

Women  in  America  without  the  ballot  are  much  more 
widely  represented  in  various  bodies  appointed  by  governors 
and  elected  by  the  people  than  in  England.  And  the  laws 
of  this  country  affecting  women  and  children  are  far  in 
advance  of  those  in  Great  Britain.  If  we  are  ready  to  copy 
England's  municipal  suffrage  for  women,  are  we  also  pre- 
pared to  adopt  her  cumulative  vote  for  school  boards,  or 
plural  vote  whereby  owners  and,  as  they  call  renters  in 
England,  "occupiers"  are  alike  entitled  to  from  one  to  six 


160  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

votes  apiece  for  parochial  boards  according  to  the  value 
upon  which  they  pay, taxes.  This  brief  survey  of  conditions 
abroad  shows  us  that  under  autocratic  and  monarchial  gov- 
ernments women  have  a  restricted  franchise;  that  in  the 
republics  of  Switzerland  and  France  woman  suffrage  is  a 
negligible  quantity;  while  in  England  and  her  colonies  the 
conditions  are  so  different  from  ours  as  to  be  no  safe  guide 
to  us  in  determining  the  expediency  of  granting  suffrage  to 
women  in  this  country. 

Here  in  New  York  within  a  week  you  have  seen  sand- 
wich women  walking  about  whose  boards  declared  "In  Utah, 
Idaho,  Wyoming  and  Colorado,  women  vote  on  equal  terms 
with  men;  why  not  in  New  York?"  The  answer  is  not  far 
to  seek.  For  forty  years  women  have  had  full  suffrage  in 
Wyoming.  The  population  of  that  state  is  about  equal  to 
that  of  Albany.  The  laws  of  these  four  states  are  not  supe- 
rior to  the  laws  of  the  older  states  where  women  do  not  vote. 
The  entire  population  of  the  four  states  is  less  than  the 
population  of  the  state  of  Maryland,  and  about  one-third  the 
population  of  New  York  city,  while  the  total  area  of  these 
four  states  is  about  eight  times  the  area  of  New  York  state. 
Colorado  is  the  only  one  of  these  states  where  conditions 
are  in  any  way  comparable  to  those  which  exist  in  our  more 
densely  populated  areas,  but  so  good  an  authority  as  the 
late  General  W.  J.  Palmer  declared  that  woman  suffrage  in 
his  state  was  a  failure  and  did  more  harm  than  good.  Mrs. 
Charlotte  Perkins  Oilman  said  to  a  gathering  of  college 
women  this  winter  that  woman  suffrage  where  it  existed  has 
not  purified  politics.  These  four  western  equal  suffrage 
states  are  the  only  states  recognized  on  the  suffrage  flag. 
They  are  "the  true  states" — stars  of  yellow  on  a  field  of  blue. 
Oregon,  in  June  of  1908,  by  a  decisive  majority — twice  that 
of  the  majority  of  1906  refused  a  constitutional  amendment. 
Twenty-nine  counties  gave  a  majority  of  21,000  and  over 
against  woman  suffrage.  Four  counties  (there  are  33  coun- 
ties in  the  state  of  Oregon)  gave  majorities  of  7,  18,  31,  and 
34  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage;  two  of  these  latter  are  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean;  one  is  in  the  center  of  the  state;  and  one 
borders  on  the  state  of  Idaho,  where  women  have  had  full 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE  161 

suffrage  since  1896.  This  latter  county  gave  a  vote  of  31  in 
favor  of  woman  suffrage,  but  the  two  other  counties  of  Ore- 
gon which  are  in  physical  contact  with  the  woman  suffrage 
experiment  in  Idaho,  gave  together  a  majority  of  800  against 
woman  suffrage. 

In  some  states  of  the  Union  women  have  a  vote  on  ques- 
tions of  taxation,  that  is,  women  tax-payers  have  a  right  to 
vote  upon  questions  submitted  to  tax-payers. 

The  only  state  which  has  municipal  suffrage  for  women  is 
Kansas,  where  it  was  granted  in  1887.  Repeated  attempts  to 
enlarge  this  municipal  suffrage  to 'state  and  federal  suffrage 
in  Kansas  have  failed.  Happy  augury  for  us,  if  we  remember 
the  dictum  of  Kipling's  walking  delegate:  "What  the  horses 
of  Kansas  think  of  to-day,  the  horses  of  America  will  think 
to-morrow  an'  I  tell  you  that  when  the  horses  of  America 
rise  in  their  might,  the  day  of  the  oppressor  is  ended."  Since 
the  legislatures  of  1908  and  1909  have  convened,  the  suf- 
fragists have  been  particularly  active;  yet  they  have  been 
defeated  in  Rhode  Island.  Maine.  New  Hampshire,  Nebraska, 
Iowa,  in  the  latter  by  a  three  to  one  vote.  Your  Committee 
on  the  Judiciary  reported  eleven  to  two  in  favor  of  the  con- 
servative woman,  and  Massachusetts  on  a  question  of  submis- 
sion to  the  voters  of  a  proposition  to  strike  out  the  word 
"male"  from  the  qualification  of  voters  in  the  Constitution  of 
Massachusetts  went  on  record  with  the  largest  majority  ever 
given  in  that  state  to  a  similar  proposition,  171  noes  to  54 
yeas. 

In  1838  widows  in  Kentucky  were  given  the  school  suf- 
frage. From  time  to  time  women  in  29  states  have  been 
given  a  vote  in  the  election  of  school  officers.  In  1879,  after 
repeated  demands  for  woman  suffrage,  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  granted  school  suffrage  to  women.  No  poll  tax 
is  even  assessed;  a  woman  who  is  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts, 
may  merely  register  and  vote.  The  suffrage  leaders  said  in 
those  days  of  1879,  "Give  us  the  school  suffrage  and  we  will 
show  you  that  women  are  in  earnest  when  they  ask  for  the 
ballot.  Women  can  easily  be  informed  on  school  matters; 
the  school  is  an  interest  near  to  every  woman's  heart.  We 
will  show  you  what  women  can  do."  And  they  have  shown 


162  SELECTED  ARTICLES 

what  women  will  do.  A  partisan  or  sectarian  issue  will  on 
occasion  bring  out  the  women's  vote,  but  after  30  years  from 
2  to  3  per  cent,  of  the  women  who  can  register  and  vote 
for  School  committee  do  so.  According  to  the  reports  of 
the  Election  commission  of  Massachusetts  in  1908  there  were 
180  towns  in  that  Commonwealth  where  the  names  of  3,154 
women  were  on  the  voting  list  and  not  one  single  woman 
voted  on  election  day.  If  we  add  28  more  towns  to  these  180 
and  so  take  208  towns  in  our  group  we  have  a  registration 
of  6,076  women,  and  an  actual  vote  cast  by  women  number- 
ing 118.  The  logic  of  theory  may  be  on  the  side  of  those 
who  ask  for  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  women.  But  the 
logic  of  stubborn,  cold  facts  is  on  the  side  of  those  who  ask 
that  woman  shall  not  assume  the  responsibilities  of  political 
life. 

The  problem  for  solution  to-day  is  the  administration  of 
our  cities.  More  than  one-quarter  of  our  population  lives 
within  these  cities.  It  is  in  the  government  of  our  cities 
that  our  political  machinery  is  breaking  down  under  universal 
manhood  suffrage  and  graft  and  corruption  are  creeping  in. 
The  education,  the  training  of  the  present  great  number  of 
voters,  many  of  them  uninformed  in  our  American  traditions, 
is  task  enough  for  those  who  would  make  our  municipalities 
clean  and  sound.  Any  patriotic  woman  must  hesitate  be- 
fore she  asks  that  a  body  of  voters,  untrained  in  matters  of 
politics,  unused  to  habit's  of  thought  along  business  or  politi- 
cal lines,  shall  be  added  to  the  already  complicated  problem 
which  faces  those  who  would  make  sound  our  body  politics. 
American  woman  to-day,  as  women  of  all  times  have  done, 
set  the  standards  and  ideals  of  society.  Our  task  is  before 
us.  The  formation  of  public  opinion  is  in  our  hands  and  in 
the  last  analysis,  we  are  governed  by  public  opinion.  The, 
exceptional  woman  is  more  powerful  to-day  in  her  civic 
work  because  she  works  without  a  partisan  motive.  To  ad- 
mit all  women  to  the  franchise  would  double  the  number  of 
voters  and  unless  we  are  prepared  to  assume  that  woman 
has  greater  political  wisdom  than  man.  the  result  would  not 
benefit  the  state,  while  the  process  would  cripple  the  ener- 
gies, the  activities,  and  the  influence  of  public-spirited  women. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  MATERIAL  FOR 
THIRD  EDITION 

Woman  Suffrage:  History,  Arguments  and  Results,  p.  37-65 

Where  Women  Vote.    Frances  M.  Bjorkman  and 

Annie  G.  Porritt. 

Scandinavia 

Throughout  the  five  countries  inhabited  by  the  Scandinavian 
people  women  have  some  measure  of  electoral  rights,  and  it  is 
likely  that  the  Scandinavians  will  be  the  first  of  the  world's 
great  racial  divisions  to  adopt  full  political  equality  for  men 
and  women.  At  the  present  time  in  Finland,  Norway  and 
Iceland,  all  women  have  the  full  Parliamentary  vote  on  the 
same  terms  as  men;  in  Sweden  all  women  have  the  municipal 
or  communal  suffrage  on  the  same  terms  as  men,  and  in 
Denmark1  women  who  pay  taxes  or  whose  husbands  pay  taxes 
have  the  municipal  vote.  In  all  five  countries  women  are 
eligible  for  all  the  offices  for  which  they  vote.  In  Sweden 
there  is  a  strong  movement  for  the  removal  of  such  political 
disabilities  as  still  remain,  and  sentiment  in  its  favor  is  so 
strong  that  it  will  undoubtedly  succeed  in  the  near  future. 

Norway 

Municipal  franchise   granted   tax-paying  women 1901 

Full  franchise  granted   tax-paying  women 1907 

Municipal  franchise  extended  to  all  women 1910 

Full  Parliamentary  franchise  extended  to  all  women.  1913 
Approximate  number  of  women  having  the  full  fran- 
chise      500,000 

Percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 20  to  55 

Population   Total   2,391,782 

Men    1,155,773 

Women   1,236,009 

1Full  suffrage  has  since  been  conferred. 


164  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

HISTORY 

Norway  was  the  first  wholly  free  and  independent  nation 
to  give  full  suffrage  to  even  a  part  of  its  women. 

In  1501  the  municipal  franchise  was  granted  to  women  who, 
either  in  their  own  persons  or  with  their  husbands,  paid  taxes 
on  an  income  amounting  to  about  $100  a  year  or  on  approxi- 
mately $100  worth  of  property — in  number  about  300,000.  In 
1005  the  question  of  the  dissolution  of  the  union  between 
Sweden  and  Norway  was  submitted  to  the  voters,  and  the 
women,  although  legally  disqualified  from  expressing  their 
opinion,  took  an  informal  ballot  on  the  question  and  sub- 
mitted it  to  the  Storthing.  Three  hundred  thousand  women, 
as  against  the  400,000  men  who  cast  their  formal  ballots,  took 
advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  declare  themselves,  albeit 
informally,  for  national  independence. 

This  manifestation  of  public  spirit  produced  a  profound 
impression  upon  the  men  of  the  country,  and  in  1907  the 
Storthing  entertained  two  different  measures  for  extending 
full  political  rights — one  to  all  women,  and  the  other  to  those 
women  who  already  possessed  the  municipal  franchise. 

The  Conservatives,  who  were  interested  in  keeping  the 
balance  of  power  in  the  hands  of  the  propertied  classes,  de- 
feated the  more  democratic  measure,  but  the  other  passed  by 
a  vote  of  96  to  25. 

In  1910,  largely  through  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
Storthing  by  the  women  voters,  the  tax-paying  qualification 
was  removed  from  the  municipal  franchise,  and  in  1911  a  bill 
providing  for  its  removal  from  the  Parliamentary  came  within 
five  votes  of  the  necessary  two-thirds  majority  of  passing.  In 
1913  it  did  pass  without  a  dissenting  voice. 

EXTENT  OF  WOMAN  VOTE 

Norwegian  women  have  exercised  their  privilege  in  four 
municipal  elections,  taking  place  in  1901,  1904,  1907,  1910  and 
1913;  and  in  two  Parliamentary  elections,  taking  place  in 
1909  and  1912. 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Women  are  eligible  to  Parliament  and  to  all  other  elective 
offices.  In  each  municipal  election  since  women  have  been 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  165 

eligible,  a  number  have  been  elected  to  city  and  county  coun- 
cils. In  1907,  20  women  were  elected  members  of  municipal 
councils,  and  96  women,  alternates.  In  1910,  this  number  was 
more  than  doubled,  44  women  having  been  elected  members, 
and  178  alternates.  No  woman  has  as  yet  been  elected  to 
Parliament.  In  1909  one  woman,  Miss  Anna  Rogstad,  a 
teacher,  was  elected  alternate,  and  in  the  absence  of  her  primary, 
took  his  seat  and  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  with  dignity 
and  efficiency.  In  the  speech  in  which  he  welcomed  this,  the 
first  woman  in  the  Norwegian  Parliament,  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  said  that  he  regarded  the  day  as  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  history  of  Norway,  and  that  he  believed  that 
posterity  would  look  upon  it  as  one  bringing  honor  and  credit 
to  the  country. 

EFFECT    UPON    LEGISLATION 

The  possession  of  political  power  by  women  has  already 
noticeably  increased  the  amount  of  consideration  given  by 
the  government  to  the  welfare  of  women  and  children.  Various 
posts,  formerly  closed,  have  been  opened  to  women,  and  a 
number  of  the  worst  inequalities  and  injustices  in  the  legal 
position  of  women  have  been  removed.  A  number  of  the 
measures  introduced  into  the  present  Parliament  clearly  show 
the  influence  of  a  female  electorate.  Both  political  parties  have 
shown  themselves  particularly  active  in  efforts  to  improve  the 
conditions  of  industry  for  women. 

Finland 

Municipal  franchise  granted  tax-paying  women  in  coun- 
try districts 1863 

Municipal  franchise  granted  tax-paying  women  in  city 

districts 1872 

Full  franchise  granted  all  women 1906 

Number  of  women  having  the  franchise 707,000 

Percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 54  to  60 

Population  Total    3,059.324 

Men 1,520,810 

Women     1,538,514 


166  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

HISTORY 

Finland,  whose  men  and  women  have  together  struggled 
for  years  against  a  foreign  oppressor,  extending  the  municipal 
franchise  to  tax-paying  women  living  in  the  country  in  1863, 
and  to  tax-paying  women  living  in  the  cities  in  1872.  In  1906, 
after  a  great  uprising  of  the  people,  a  new  constitution  was 
granted  by  the  Russian  Czar,  and  the  full  Parliamentary  suffrage 
for  women  was  granted  by  the  first  Diet  that  convened  there- 
after. 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Since  women  became  eligible,  there  has  not  been  an  election 
in  which  a  number  have  not  been  elected  to  the  Diet,  the 
fewest  being  16  and  the  highest  25.  There  are  21  in  the  present 
Diet,  chosen  in  the  elections  of  August,  1913. 

The  women  legislators  have  come  from  all  classes  of  society. 
Among  them  have  been  teachers,  writers,  editors,  seamstresses, 
doctors  of  philosophy,  state  officials,  social  workers,  and  wives 
of  peasants,  mechanics  and  professional  men.  Most  of  them 
have  been  over  forty,  and  most  of  them  have  been  married 
women.  Three  have  had  husbands  sitting  in  the  Diet  with  them. 

J.  N.  Renter,  of  Finland,  writes:  "I  hear  from  my  friends 
in  the  House — hardened  and  level-headed  business  men  among 
them — that  the  women  acquit  themselves  very  creditably  of  their 
task,  not  only  in  debate  but  also  in  committee  work,  where  their 
special  experience  often  is  very  valuable,  as  concerning  female 
labor,  child  legislation,  education,  and  so  on.  Not  only  does 
everybody  agree  that  it  has  done  no  harm  to  the  community 
whatever,  but  most  people  decidedly  believe  that  the  work  of 
legislation  derives  great  benefit  from  the  presence  in  the  House 
of  women  members." 

EFFECT   UPON   LEGISLATION 

Vera  Hjelt  makes  an  abstract  from  the  legislation  of  the 
years  1907-1911  of  the  questions  dealt  with  in  the  bills  intro- 
duced by  the  women  members  of  the  Diet.  They  are : 

The  raising  of  the  marriageable  age  of  women;  the  relations 
regarding  property  between  husband  and  wife;  the  abolition  of 
the  guardianship  exercised  by  a  man  over  his  wife;  the  right 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  167 

of  mothers  with  regard  to  their  children,  the  endowment  of 
motherhood ;  the  right  of  women  to  enter  every  kind  of  govern- 
ment service ;  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  illegitimate 
children;  the  erection  of  homes  for  destitute  mothers  and 
children;  increased  penalties  for  prostitution;  provision  for  in- 
struction in  household  management;  the  obligation  on  every 
commune  to  maintain  a  midwife;  the  abolition  of  certain  enact- 
ments concerning  servants ;  prison  reform ;  the  establishment 
of  rural  colonies;  instruction  in  a  trade  in  prison;  the  support 
of  various  educational  institutions  from  the  public  funds/;  grants 
for  the  promotion  of  public  morality  with  especial  regard  to  the 
abolition  of  regulated  vice;  the  appointment  of  women  health 
inspectors ;  the  intervention  of  the  commune  in  labor  disputes ; 
the  establishment  of  a  central  social  bureau;  the  construction 
of  new  railways ;  the  acceleration  of  the  reform  of  the  laws 
concerning  the  treatment  of  Jews;  compulsory  education;  total 
prohibition  of  the  sale  of  alcohol;  state  reformatories  for 
inebriates;  the  transformation  of  the  department  of  justice  in 
the  Senate  into  an  independent  Supreme  Court;  laws  concerning 
associations. 

However,  as  the  Russian  Imperial  Council  reserves  the  right 
to  veto  all  legislation  initiated  by  the  Finns  themselves,  few  of 
these  measures  have  become  operative.  The  woman  members, 
with,  in  fact,  all  the  women  of  the  country,  have  won  the  hearty 
esteem  of  the  men  by  the  energetic,  efficient  and  selfless  manner 
in  which  they  have  co-operated  in  all  efforts  to  preserve  Finnish 
autonomy  against  the  aggressions  of  Russian  despotism. 

Iceland 

Municipal    suffrage    granted    tax-paying    ividows    and 

spinsters    1882 

Municipal  suffrage  extended  to  all  women 1909 

Full  suffrage  extended  to  all  ivomen 1914 

Approximate  number  of  women  eligible 11,000 

Estimated  percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 50  to  80 

Population    Total    85,188 

Women 41,083 

Men    44,105 


i68  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

HISTORY 

As  was  the  case  in  Finland  and  Norway,  public  sentiment 
in  Iceland  was  rendered  particularly  favorable  to  granting  suf- 
frage to  women  because  of  the  active  part  taken  by  women 
in  a  general  movement  for  national  independence.  In  1874, 
the  struggle  of  the  Icelandic  people  to  achieve  at  least  a 
measure  of  independence  of  Danish  rule  ended  in  the 
granting  of  a  separate  Icelandic  Parliament;  and  in  1882 
this  Parliament  took  the  first  steps  toward  the  enfranchisement 
of  the  women  of  the  country  by  granting  the  municipal  or  com- 
munal franchise  to  tax-paying  widows  and  spinsters.  In  1909, 
this  was  widened  to  include  all  women.  In  1911,  a  measure 
granting  universal  suffrage — that  is,  removing  all  the  restrictions 
from  the  vote  for  both  men  and  women  of  voting  age — passed 
both  Houses  in  Parliament.  As  the  Constitution  provides  that 
measures  requiring  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  must  pass 
two  sessions,  the  bill  was  re-introduced  in  1913,  and  passed  .by 
the  Althing  August  12,  1914.  It  fixes  the  voting  age  for  women 
at  forty  years,  but  this  is  to  be  gradually  decreased  until  it  is 
the  same  as  that  of  men. 

EXTENT    OF    WOMAN    VOTE 

In  the  first  elections  after  the  women  got  the  full  municipal 
vote,   for  the  town  council  of   Reykjavik  in  1908,  women  cast 
1,220  of  the  total  2,850  votes  recorded — an  extraordinarily  high 
percentage.     In  the  election  of  1912  for  town  council  of  Reyk 
javik  about  50  per  cent  of  the  qualified  women  cast  their  votes. 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Women  are  eligible  for  all  offices.  In  the  elections  of  1908, 
four  were  elected  to  the  town  council  of  Reykjavik,  and  in  the 
elections  of  1912,  two  were  returned  and  one  new  candidate 
elected.  Women  have  also  been  elected  to  the  councils  of  other 
communities. 

EFFECT   UPON    LEGISLATION 

Through  the  use  of  the  municipal  franchise  women  have 
been  able  to  force  a  marked  degree  of  consideration  of  their 
special  needs  and  problems  in  their  own  communities,  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  municipal  gas  plant  in  Reykjavik  being  always 
attributed  to  their  work.  They  have  furthermore  achieved  of- 
ficial recognition  of  the  unfair  conditions  of  women  wage- 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  169 

workers,  thereby  making  an  opening  for  future  remedial  legisla- 
tion. 

Sweden 
Municipal   franchise   granted   tax-paying    widows   and 

spinsters    1862 

Municipal  franchise  granted  all  women   on   the  same 

basis    as    men    _ _..         _ J9O9 

Approximate  number  of  women  having  the  municipal 

franchise     1,400,000 

Percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 15.2  to  32.9 

Population    Total    5,521,939 

Men    2,698,975 

Women    2,822,968 

HISTORY 

Sweden  was  the  first  country  in  the  world  to  extend  to 
women  any  measure  of  suffrage  whatever.  For  more  than  a 
century  Swedish  women  have  had  some  measure  of  communal 
franchise  rights,  and  as  early  as  1862  unmarried  women  who 
paid  taxes  were  given  the  full  municipal  vote.  At  that  time 
the  franchise  for  men  was  so  heavily  encumbered  with  restric- 
tions that  not  one-tenth  of  the  male  population  was  qualified  to 
exercise  it.  In  1909,  however,  a  new  electoral  law  was  enacted, 
removing  most  of  the  restrictions  from  the  franchise  for  men 
and  extending  the  municipal  franchise  to  all  women.  In  1909 
a  bill  to  extend  the  full  franchise  to  women  was  passed  unani- 
mously by  the  Lower  House  of  the  Riksdag,  but  was  defeated  in 
the  Upper,  which,  of  bourse,  is  always  composed  of  the  con- 
servative element.  In  1911  the  women  made  a  special  effort  to 
secure  the  election  of  members  of  the  Liberal  and  Socialist 
parties,  both  of  which  had  included  woman  suffrage  in  their 
platforms.  The  Conservatives  were  driven  out  of  power,  a 
strong  majority  of  members  pledged  to  woman  suffrage  elected 
to  both  Houses,  and  a  Liberal  Ministry  installed. 

At  the  opening  of  Parliament  in  1912,  the  new  Liberal  Prime 
Minister,  who  had  always  been  a  supporter  of  the  women's 
movement,  mentioned  the  necessity  for  this  reform  in  his  first 
speech  to  the  new  Liberal  Cabinet,  and  the  King,  in  his  speech 
from  the  throne,  announced  that  a  government  measure  would 
be  brought  in  giving  women  the  right  to  vote  and  to  be  elected 


i;o  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

for  all  political  offices.  The  bill  passed  the  Lower  House,  but 
was  again  thrown  out  in  the  Upper.  A  Government  Bill  passed 
the  Lower  House  again  in  1914,  but  on  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  it  was  laid  aside  by  the  Senate— an  action  that  makes  pos- 
sible its  adoption  as  soon  as  normal  conditions  return. 

EXTENT    OF     WOMAN    VOTE 

Until  the  year  1909  when  the  general  electoral  reform  law 
removed  most  of  the  restrictions  from  the  vote  of  men  and  gave 
women  the  communal  franchise  on  the  same  terms  as  men,  the 
women  had  apparently  placed  little  value  on  their  small  measure 
of  suffrage  as  very  few  took  the  trouble  to  go  to  the  polls  and 
record  their  votes.  Since  1909,  however,  the  woman  vote  has 
increased  steadily,  rising  from  15.2  per  cent  in  1908  to  32.9  per 
cent  in  1912. 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Women  are  eligible  for  all  offices  for  which  they  vote.  In 
the  first  election  in  which  they  were  eligible  to  stand  for  office, 
in  the  autumn  of  1910,  thirty-five  were  elected  to  town  councils. 
In  1912,  eighteen  more  women  were  elected,  so  that  with  those 
already  holding  office,  Sweden  has  now  more  than  sixty  women 
town  councilors. 

EFFECT    UPON   LEGISLATION 

Women  have  exerted  a  very  decided  influence  upon  municipal 
affairs,  especially  for  the  betterment  of  local  conditions  affecting 
the  home,  educational  and  philanthropic  institutions,  women's 
industrial  conditions  and  the  welfare  of  children;  but  lacking 
the  Parliamentary  vote  they  have  so  far  been  unable  to  influence 
national  legislation  to  any  considerable  extent. 

Denmark1 
Municipal   franchise    granted    tax-paying    women    and 

wives  of  men  who  pay  taxes 1908 

Number  of  women  enfranchised 422,999 

Percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 38  to  70 

Population  Total  2,757,076 

Men    1,337,900 

Women    • 1,419,176 

1  Full  suffrage  granted  by  the  new  constitution,  1915. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  171 

HISTORY 

Denmark  did  not  give  the  municipal  vote  until  1908.  The 
preceding  year,  1907,  it  took  its  first  step  by  giving  women  the 
right  to  vote  for  and  to  serve  on  boards  of  public  charities. 
Between  1908  and  1914  Parliament  twice  entertained  a  measure 
to  extend  the  full  suffrage.  Both  times  the  bill  passed  in  the 
Lower  House,  but  was  blocked  in  the  Upper.  In  1914  woman 
suffrage  was  made  part  of  a  general  electoral  reform  measure, 
consideration  of  which  was  postponed  on  account  of  the  war. 

EXTENT   OF   WOMAN  VOTE 

In  the  elections  of  1909,  50  per  cent  of  the  eligible  women 
voted,  as  compared  with  76.5  per  cent  of  the  men.  As  always, 
it  was  the  vote  of  the  country  districts,  where  women  cannot 
always  leave  home  to  get  to  the  polls,  that  pulled  down  the 
average.  In  Copenhagen  nearly  70  per  cent  of  the  eligible 
women  cast  their  ballots,  and  in  the  other  cities  the  vote  of  the 
women  ranged  from  66  per  cent  to  70  per  cent,  whereas  in 
some  of  the  country  districts  it  fell  as  low  as  38  per  cent. 
The  actual  number  of  women  voting  in  all  districts  was  199,239, 
as  against  328,315  men.  In  1912,  there  was  a  special  election  in 
Copenhagen,  in  which  68.7  per  cent  of  the  eligible  women 
voted,  as  compared  with  80.8  per  cent  of  the  eligible  men. 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Women  are  eligible  to  all  the  offices  for  which  they  vote, 
and  in  1909,  127  were  elected  to  town  councils,  seven  to  the 
Council  of  Copenhagen.  One  woman  has  been  appointed  a 
police  officer,  and  two,  municipal  treasurers.  In  1913  in 
Copenhagen  13  women  were  elected  and  one  was  made  Vice- 
President  of  the  Council. 

EFFECT   UPON  LEGISLATION 

So  far,  the  women's  influence  upon  legislation  has  been 
almost  wholly  confined  to  municipal  affairs.  Women  have, 
however,  succeeded  in  getting  through  Parliament  a  bill  that 
provides  for  the  omission  of  the  word  "obey"  from  the  mar- 
riage service,  and  have  also  secured  some  concessions  in  the 
matter  of  property  rights.  The  two  large  woman  suffrage  asso- 


172  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

ciations  are  carrying  on  a  work  of  political  education  that  is 
fitting  the  women  of  Denmark  to  make  a  very  effective  use  of 
their  Parliamentary  franchise  when  they  get  it. 

THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 

In  the  British  Empire  the  principle  of  woman  suffrage 
has  received  some  degree  of  recognition.  In  Australia,  New 
Zealand  and  the  Isle  of  Man,  women  have  full  Parliamentary 
suffrage;  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  they  have  muni- 
cipal suffrage  on  similar  terms  with  men;  in  eight  provinces 
of  Canada,  tax-paying  widows  and  spinsters  have  the  muni- 
cipal franchise,  while  in  Nova  Scotia  married  women  whose 
husbands  are  not  voters  are  included.  The  Parliament  of  the 
Union  of  South  Africa  granted  municipal  suffrage  to  women 
in  1914.  In  some  cities  of  British  India,  and  in  Rangoon  in 
Burma,  women  share  the  small  measure  of  municipal  voting 
rights  possessed  by  men. 

New  Zealand 

Municipal  suffrage  granted  all  women 1886 

Full  suffrage  granted  all  women 1893 

Approximate  number  of  women  eligible 300,000 

Percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 74  to  85 

Population   Total    1,008,468 

Males    53^910 

Females    476,558 

HISTORY 

New  Zealand  was  the  first  country  to  give  full  suffrage  to 
all  women.  This  colony  made  good  its  title  as  "the  most 
progressive  state  in  the  world"  by  granting  the  school  vote  to 
women  in  1877,  the  municipal  vote  in  1886,  and  the  full  Parlia- 
mentary vote  in  1893.  There  are  50,000  Maoris  in  the  islands, 
and  the  Maori  women  possess  and  exercise  the  right  to  vote 
equally  with  the  white  women.  Four  Maori  men  sit  in  the 
lower  House  of  the  Legislature;  but  no  woman  can  yet  be  a 
member  of  either  House. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  173 

EXTENT  OF  WOMAN  VOTE 

In  the  first  elections,  which  took  place  only  a  few  weeks 
after  the  measure  went  into  effect,  85  per  cent  of  the  qualified 
women  cast  their  ballots,  as  against  69  per  cent  of  the  men. 
In  no  election  since  has  the  vote  of  the  women  fallen  below 
74  per  cent  of  the  total  number  qualified,  while  the  vote  of 
the  men  has  risen  steadily  until  now  it  averages  75  per  cent  to 
80  per  cent  of  those  qualified;  whereas,  before  the  women  got 
the  vote  it  frequently  fell  below  60  per  cent. 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Women  are  eligible  to  all  elective  offices,  except  membership 
in  Parliament,  but  as  yet,  owing  to  the  unsettled  conditions  of 
the  country  that  tend  to  keep  the  women  occupied  with  the 
work  of  their  homes,  they  have  not,*to  any  great  extent,  taken 
advantage  of  this  fact. 

EFFECT     UPON     LEGISLATION 

A  striking  tribute  to  the  work  of  the  New  Zealand  women 
was  paid  in  1914  in  a  publication  issued  by  the  Children's 
Bureau  at  Washington.  New  Zealand  methods  of  caring  for 
the  health  of  women  and  children  are  cited  as  models  for  the 
world.  The  infant  death  rate  of  New  Zealand  is  51  per  1,000, 
less  than  half  that  of  the  United  States. 

Since  women  got  the  vote  legislative  measures  have  been 
enacted  making  women  eligible  to  practice  at  the  bar;  giving 
equal  educational  opportunities  and  honors  to  both  sexes  in 
common  schools,  high  schools  and  universities;  establishing  old 
age  pensions;  providing  for  the  licensing  of  servants'  employ- 
ment bureaus  in  order  to  protect  girls  from  the  white  slave 
traffic;  providing  measures  for  the  protection  of  adopted  and 
boarded-out  children;  providing  for  the  maintenance  of  desti- 
tute persons  by  their  relatives ;  regulating  property  succession  so 
as  to  insure  provision  for  testator's  wife,  husband,  or  family— 
a  fair  division,  regardless  of  sex — and  the  maintenance  of 
defective  and  invalid  children;  making  compulsory  the  main- 
tenance of  wife  and  family  upon  men,  and  providing  that  wages 
be  paid  to  prisoners  for  the  support  of  wife  and  family; 


174  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

creating  and  regulating  industrial  and  technical  schools;  pro- 
viding state  aid  for  expectant  mothers;  preventing  a  deserting 
husband  or  putative  father  of  an  illegitimate  child  from  leaving 
the  country;  providing  punishment  for  sexual  offenses;  pro- 
viding for  humane  and  reformatory  methods  of  dealing  with 
prisoners;  instituting  the  probation  system;  suppressing  inde- 
cent pictures  and  immoral  literature  and  plays;  creating  a 
juvenile  court;  making  conditions  of  divorce  equal  for  both 
sexes ;  providing  for  compensation  to  women  for  slander ; 
legitimatizing  and  giving  equal  property  rights  to  children  born 
before  the  marriage  of  parents;  providing  equal  pay  for  equal 
work;  insuring  healthy  condition's  and  a  minimum  wage  for 
working  women;  instituting  regulations  against  the  employ- 
ment of  children;  instituting  temperance  regulations;  repealing 
the  contagious  disease  act,  under  which  prostitutes  had  to  sub- 
mit to  medical  inspection,  which  was  found  useless  to  minimize 
the  evils  of  prostitution  and  humiliated  the  women  while  letting 
the  men  go  free. 

Australia 

State  suffrage  granted  in  South  Australia 1895 

State  suffrage  granted  in  West  Australia 1900 

State  suffrage  granted  in  New  South  Wales 1902 

State  suffrage  granted  in  Tasmania 1903 

State  suffrage  granted  in  Queensland 1905 

State  suffrage  granted  in  Victoria 1908 

Full  stiff  rage  granted  throughout  Federated  Australia.  1902 
Number  of  women  having  franchise  in  Federated  Aus- 
tralia       1,100,000 

Percentage  of  women  eligible  who  vote 40  to  60 

Population   Total   4,455,005 

Females    2,313,035 

Males    2,141,970 

HISTORY 

In  Australia  an  anomalous  condition  existed  for  several 
years  because  of  the  fact  that  the  Federation  had  given  full 
Parliamentary  suffrage  to  women,  whereas  at  the  time  the 
measure  passed,  only  two  of  the  states  had  granted  the  state 
franchise. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  175 

The  six  states  united  in  a  federation  in  1902.  Two,  South 
and  West  Australia,  had  already  given  votes  to  women— South 
Australia  in  1895  and  West  Australia  in  1900— so  that  when 
the  new  federal  Parliament  convened  for  the  first  time  it 
already  contained  a  contingent  favorable  to  the  extension  of 
suffrage  to  women,  and  a  measure  granting  women  the  right  to 
vote  for  members  of  the  federal  Parliament  went  through  at 
the  first  session.  New  South  Wales  immediately  extended  the 
state  franchise,  and  Tasmania  followed  in  the  next  year. 
Queensland  put  the  measure  through  in  1905,  and  Victoria  in 
1908. 

EXTENT    OF    WOMAN    VOTE 

Official  election  figures  show  that  the  percentage  of  eligible 
women  who  actually  cast  their  ballots  is  only  very  little  lower 
than  the  percentage  of  eligible  men  who  vote;  and  the  per- 
centage of  the  women's  votes  in  the  federal  elections  of  1910 
stands  at  a  higher  figure  than  the  percentage  of  men  voting 
either  in  1903  or  1906  for  every  state  except  Tasmania.  It  is 
a  significant  fact  that,  since  the  women  got  the  full  Parlia- 
mentary vote,  the  percentages  for  both  men  and  women  have 
risen  in  each  election.  The  exact  figures  for  the  vote  for 
members  of  the  Senate  are  herewith  given.  The  vote  for  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  practically  the 
same,  since  it  has  exactly  the  same  electorate,  the  only  differ- 
ence being  that  all  the  votes  for  members  of  the  Senate  must 
appear  in  the  official  returns,  since  each  election  for  the  Senate 
must  be  contested,  whereas  in  the  case  of  the  House  many 
elections  go  uncontested,  and  do  not,  therefore,  appear  in  the 
returns. 

MEN 

Percentage 

Electors  Number  enrolled 

Year                                            enrolled  voting  who  voted 

1903    094,484  527,997  53-09 

1906    1,114,187  628,135  56.38 

1910    1,186,783  820,030  67.58 

1913    78.22 


1 76  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

WOMEN 

Percentage 

Electors  Number  enrolled 

Year                                            enrolled  voting  who  voted 

1903    899,102  359,315  39-96 

1906    995,375  431,033  43.30 

1910    1,071,699  601,946  56.17 

1913     71-54 

OFFICE    HOLDING 

Women  are  eligible  to  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  Federal  Commonwealth  Parliament,  but 
so  far  only  South  Australia  and  Queensland  have  made  them 
eligible  to  the  state  legislative  bodies.  In  none  of  the  states 
are  they  eligible  to  municipal  councils.  No  woman  has  as  yet 
been  elected  to  the  federal  Parliament  or  to  either  of  the  two 
state  assemblies  to  which  they  are  eligible ;  but  in  1903  and 
again  in  1910,  Miss  Vida  Goldstein  stood  for  the  federal  Senate 
and  both  times  polled  a  very  large  vote. 

EFFECT    UPON    LEGISLATION 

The  effect  of  the  woman  vote  upon  legislation  has,  however, 
been  marked.  Since  getting  the  franchise  they  have  backed 
and  helped  secure  measures  providing  for  equal  pay  for  equal 
work;  equal  naturalization  laws;  protection  of  juvenile  immi- 
grants ;  regulation  of  the  food  and  milk  supplies ;  protection 
of  infant  life;  appointment  of  police  matrons;  provision  for 
deserted  wives,  and  maintenance  of  wives  of  prisoners  out  of 
prisoners'  earnings;  establishment  of  juvenile  courts;  state 
support  for  free  kindergartens  and  playgrounds;  establishment 
of  old  age  pensions  and  maternity  grants  of  £5  ($25)  in 
respect  of  each  child  born;  establishment  of  eight-hour  day 
for  women;  state  boards  for  the  fixing  of  a  minimum  wage 
scale,  and  hours  and  conditions  for  working  women;  raising 
the  age  of  consent  for  girls;  and  allowing  women  who  have 
married  foreigners  to  retain  their  own  nationality. 

In  1910  both  Houses  of  the  federal  Parliament  passed  the 
following  resolutions : 

i.     That  this  House  testifies  to  the  facts  that  after  sixteen 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  177 

years'  experience  of  woman  suffrage  in  various  parts  of  Aus- 
tralasia, and  nine  years'  experience  in  the  Commonwealth,  the 
reform  has  justified  the  hopes  of  its  supporters  and  falsified  all 
the  fears  and  prophecies  of  disaster  voiced  by  its  opponents. 

2.  That  as  foreseen  by  its  advocates,  its  effects  have  been 
(a)    to  gradually   educate  women  to  a  sense  of  their  respon- 
sibility in  public  affairs;   (b)  to  give  more  prominence  to  social 
and  domestic  legislation. 

3.  That  Australian  experience  convinces  this  House  that  to 
adopt  woman  suffrage  is  simply  to  apply  to  the  political  sphere 
that  principle  of   government  that   secu-res   the   best   results  in 
the    domestic    sphere — the    mutual    co-operation    of    men    and 
women  for  the  individual  and  general  welfare. 

England  and  Wales 
Municipal  suffrage  granted  to  unmarried  women  and 

widows  who  were  householders 1869 

Women  made  eligible  to  city  and  county  councils 1907 

Population    (1911)    Total 36,075,269 

Males    17,448,476 

Females    18,626,793 

In  England  qualified  women  may  vote  for  county  councils, 
town  councils,  urban  district  councils,  rural  district  councils, 
boards  of  guardians  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  parish 
councils.  They  cannot  vote  for  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  nor  in  elections  for  the  City  of  London.  Married 
women  are  also  debarred  from  voting  for  county  councils 
(except  the  London  County  Council)  and  town  councils;  but 
married  women  properly  qualified  may  vote  for  the  London 
borough  councils.  To  be  qualified  a  woman  must  be  over 
twenty-one  and  must  be  the  occupier,  in  her  own  name,  as 
owner  or  tenant,  of  a  house  or  part  of  a  house,  or  of  business 
premises  worth  at  least  £10  ($50)  a  year.  There  is  an  owner- 
ship qualification  for  the  municipal  franchise  for  men  and  also 
a  service  franchise,  but  these  are  not  extended  to  women. 
Until  1902  women  had  also  the  right  to  vote  for  members  of 
school  boards,  but  these  boards  were  swept  away  in  1902  and 
committees  of  the  town  or  county  councils  substituted. 


178  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

The  first  elections  of  women  in  England  were  to  the  school 
boards  created  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  1870.  In  1875  a  woman 
was  elected  a  poor-law  guardian  and  for  twenty-five  years  the 
best  work  done  by  women  was  in  humanizing  the  care  of  the 
poor.  There  are  about  1,320  women  now  serving  as  poor-law 
guardians  in  England  and  Wales.  Women  have  only  been 
elected  to  town  councils  since  1907  and  in  1914  there  were 
twenty-one  women  councilors.  Between  1907  and  1914  several 
women  were  chosen  by  the  councils  to  the  mayoralty — the  first 
being  Mrs.  Lees  of  Oldham.  In  1914,  when  the  woman  suf- 
frage bill  was  before  Parliament,  it  was  estimated  that  there 
were  1,000,000  women  qualified  as  municipal  voters  in  England 
and  Wales. 

Scotland 
Municipal  suffrage  granted  women  on  the  same  terms 

as  men 1881 

Women  made  eligible  to  city  and  county  councils 1901 

Population   (1911)   Total 4,759,445 

Males 2,307,603 

Females    2,451,842 

The  franchise  for  women  in  Scotland  is  rather  wider  than 
in  England.  Women  can  vote  for  and  be  members  of  school 
boards,  county  councils,  town  councils  and  parish  councils.  To 
qualify  a  woman  must  own  or  occupy  real  property  to  the 
value  of  £4  ($20)  a  year,  or  be  a  householder  of  a  house  or 
rooms  of  any  value.  Women  may  also  vote  on  a  service  fran- 
chise— occupying  property  in  virtue  of  service;  as  owners  of 
property  without  occupation;  or  as  lodgers.  No  woman  in 
Scotland  is  disqualified  by  marriage,  but  she  cannot  qualify  on 
the  same  property  as  her  husband. 

Ireland 
Municipal  suffrage  granted  -women  on  the  same  terms 

as  men  1898 

Women  made  eligible  to  city  and  county  councils 1911 

Population  (1911)   Total 4,38i,9Si 

Males    2,186,804 

Females    .  2,195,147 


WOMAN   SUFFRAGE  179 

In  Ireland  the  franchise  for  women  is  practically  the  same 

as  in  Scotland. 

Isle  of  Man 

Full  Parliamentary  suffrage  granted  to   women  prop- 
erty-owners 1881 

Full  Parliamentary  suffrage  extended  to  women  tax- 
payers      1892 

Population    (1911)    Total 52,034 

Males    23,953 

Females    28,081 

Canada 
Municipal   suffrage   granted    property-owning    widows 

and  spinsters: 

Ontario    1884 

British  Columbia 1888 

Northwest  Territory  (now  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan)          1888 

Prince  Edward  Island 1888 

Quebec    1892 

Municipal   suffrage   granted    tax-paying    widows    and 

spinsters: 

Manitoba    1888 

New  Brunswick  1886 

Municipal    suffrage    granted    to    all    property-owning 

women,  including  married  women,  whose  husbands 

are  not  voters: 
Nova  Scotia   1887 

In  all  the  Provinces  of  Canada  women  have  some  measure 
of  school  suffrage.  In  Ontario,  Manitoba,  Alberta  and  Sas- 
katchewan, women  property-holders  or  tax-payers,  either  mar- 
ried or  single,  are  entitled  to  vote  for  school  boards,  and  in 
British  Columbia,  the  wives  of  school  voters  may  also  vote 
whether  they  own  independent  property  or  not.  In  all  the 
other  provinces,  widows  and  spinsters  who  are  property- 
holders  or  tax-payers  have  the  school  suffrage. 

Women  may  not  hold  municipal  offices  even  though  they 
may  vote  for  them,  but  women  who  can  vote  for  school  trustees 
may  also  be  elected  as  school  trustees. 


i8o  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

THE  UNITED  STATES 

School    suffrage   granted   certain    classes    of   women  subject 
to  various  restrictions : 

Kentucky    1838 

Kansas 1861 

Michigan    1875 

Minnesota    1875 

Colorado    1876 

New  Hampshire  1878 

Oregon    1878 

Massachusetts   1879 

Vermont   1880 

New  York  1880 

Mississippi    1880 

Nebraska   1883 

Montana    1887 

New  Jersey ." 1887 

North  Dakota  1887 

South  Dakota  .' . . .  1887 

Arizona   1887 

Oklahoma    1890 

Connecticut    1893 

Ohio   1894 

Delaware  1898 

Wisconsin    1900 

Suffrage  on  taxation  and  bonding  propositions  granted  cer- 
tain classes  of  women  subject  to  various  restrictions: 

Montana    1887 

Iowa    1894 

Louisiana    1898 

New  York   1901 

Kansas    1903 

Michigan    1908 

Municipal  suffrage  granted  all  women : 

Kansas   1887 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  181 

Vote  for  Presidential  Electors,  for  certain  county  and  cer- 
tain state  officers  and  for  all  municipal  officers  granted  all 
women : 

Illinois    1913 

Full  suffrage  granted  all  women: 

Wyoming    1869 

Colorado    1893 

Utah    1896 

Idaho   1896 

Washington    1910 

California   191 1 

Kansas    1912 

Oregon    1912 

Arizona  1912 

Alaska  1913 

Montana    1914 

Nevada    I9J4 

Harper,  Ida  Husted.     A  Brief  History  of  the  Movement  for 
Woman  Suffrage  in  the  United  States,  p.  29-32. 

KANSAS,  ARIZONA,  OREGON — In  1912  the  Legislature  of  Kan- 
sas submitted  an  amendment  for  woman  suffrage.  Those  of 
Oregon  and  Arizona  refused,  but  under  the  law  of  Initiative 
and  Referendum  the  women  secured  enough  signatures  of  voters 
to  compel  the  submission.  The  amendment  was  adopted  by  the 
three  states  in  November,  1912.  In  Arizona  every  county  gave 
a  majority  with  a  favorable  vote  of  about  ten  to  one.  In 
Oregon  there  was  a  majority  of  4,161  in  a  vote  of  128,369;  in 
Kansas  16,079  in  a  vote  of  334,473-  In  all  the  amendment  car- 
ried with  it  jury  service  and  eligibility  to  every  office.  In  all 
the  women  made  a  strong,  dignified  and  never-ceasing  cam- 
paign, and  future  generations  will  never  know  how  small  was 
the  number  who  worked  for  the  suffrage  compared  to  the  vast 
number  who  will  joyfully  make  use  of  it,  as  those  of  the 
present  are  now  doing.  At  the  first  elections,  in  1914,  the 
percentage  of  women  voting  was  nearly  that  of  men,  and 


182  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

Arizona  elected  to  its  Senate  the  woman  who  was  president  of 
the  state  Suffrage  association. 

ALASKA — Although  Congress  in  1890  had  vigorously  opposed 
admitting  Wyoming  with  woman  suffrage,  in  1912  it  specifically 
provided  in  the  act  organizing  Alaska  into  a  territory  that  its 
legislature  might  enfranchise  women.  This  was  done  by  unani- 
mous vote  as  soon  as  it  met  for  the  first  time  in  the  spring  of 
1913.  A  considerable  number  of  American,  English  and  Rus- 
sian men  have  settled  there  with  their  families,  and  there  are 
teachers  and  other  women  in  business.  As  the  Territory  de- 
velops, their  influence  in  its  civic  and  political  life  will 
undoubtedly  prove  a  valuable  factor. 

ILLINOIS — The  Constitution  of  Illinois,  which  has  not  been 
revised  for  many  years,  provides  that  the  Legislature  shall 
have  power  to  confer  the  suffrage  for  any  official  whose  election 
is  not  provided  for  in  the  Constitution.  It  is  a  very  difficult 
document  to  amend  and  therefore  the  women  tried  only  to 
obtain  what  the  Legislature  was  able  to  give.  Their  bill  was 
many  times  rejected,  but  at  last  was  adopted  in  June,  1913, 
by  29  to  15  in  the  Senate  and  83  to  58  in  the  House  and  was 
signed  by  Governor  Edward  F.  Dunne  on  the  26th  of  that 
month.  It  gave  to  women  a  vote  for  Presidential  electors; 
State  Board  of  Equalization  (taxes),  trustees  of  State  Uni- 
versity, clerks  of  Appellate  Court,  sanitary  district  trustees ;  for 
county  Boards  of  Assessors  and  of  Review,  supervisor,  clerk, 
collector,  surveyor,  highway  commissioner  and  school  district 
officers;  for  all  municipal  officers  except  police  magistrates  and 
for  the  school  board;  also  for  all  measures  submitted  to  the 
electors  of  state,  cities  and  villages.  The  validity  of  this  law 
was  at  once  tested  in  the  lower  courts  and  carried  to  the 
Supreme  Court  and  the  latter  declared  it  to  be  constitutional, 
except  that  women  may  not  vote  on  questions  which  the  con- 
stitution provides  for  submitting  to  the  electors.  They  are 
eligible  to  the  offices  for  which  they  can  vote.  For  the  Chicago 
elections  the  following  spring  473,000  men  registered  and  218,000 
women,  and  71  per  cent  of  the  men  and  73  per  cent  of  the 
women  voted.  They  vote  generally  throughout  the  state  and 
have  very  largely  increased  the  area  of  local  option. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  183 

NEVADA,  MONTANA — The  November  elections  of  November 
3,  1914,  added  two  more  states  to  the  roll  of  honor  and  made 
all  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  Rocky  Mountain  states  white  on 
the  suffrage  map.  In  Nevada  the  resolution  to  submit  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  for  woman  suffrage  to  the  electors 
passed  the  necessary  two  Legislatures  by  a  nearly  unanimous 
vote  in  both  Houses,  and  in  Montana  the  one  Legislature  almost 
unanimously.  Victory  at  the  polls,  however,  was  by  no  means 
so  easy,  as  in  no  states  did  the  opposition  ever  put  forth 
stronger  effort  and  in  none  were  the  physical  hardships  of 
campaigning  so  great,  owing  to  the  high  mountains,  vast 
distances  and  scattered  population,  the  voters  having  to  be 
reached  on  far-away  ranches  and  isolated  mining  camps.  Mon- 
tana was  carried  by  a  majority  of  3,714.  The  full  returns  from 
Nevada  have  not  been  received,  but  the  majority  was  between 
3,000  and  4,000.  As  its  electorate  is  small  it  has  the  distinction 
of  having  given  the  largest  proportionate  vote  for  woman  suf- 
frage on  record.  In  both  states  the  result  is  a  splendid  tribute 
to  the  heroic  work  of  the  women  who  gave  to  it  not  months 
but  years  of  time. 

Women  are  now  fully  enfranchised  and  eligible  for  all  offices 
in  eleven  states,  in  which,  according  to  the  census  of  1910, 
there  were  about  2,098,000  over  21  years  of  age,  and  to  these 
must  be  added  several  thousand  in  Alaska.  Illinois,  where 
women  have  Presidential  suffrage,  was  credited  with  1,567,500. 
The  number  in  all  the  states  has  increased  in  four  years,  and 
while  some  of  the  women  are  not  naturalized,  it  would  not 
be  an  overestimate  that  3,750,000  will  be  eligible  to  vote  for 
Presidential  electors  in  1916,  even  if  no  more  are  enfranchised 
before  that  time. 

Independent.  82:  514-15.  June  21,  1915. 

Danish  Women  Win.     Ida  Husted  Harper. 

In  the  midst  of  the  crushing  sorrow  which  a  world-wide  war 
has  inflicted  on  the  women  of  Europe,  those  of  one  country  are 
happy,  for  on  the  5th  of  June  the  King  signed  the  new  Con- 
stitution which  gives  suffrage  and  eligibility  to  office  to  the 


184  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

women  of  Denmark  on  the  same  terms  as  to  men.  The  women 
of  all  Scandinavia  are  now  fully  enfranchised  except  that  in 
Sweden  they  lack  the  vote  for  members  of  Parliament.  This 
awaits  only  the  same  political  revolution  as  has  just  taken  place 
in  Denmark,  namely,  the  replacing  of  the  "privileged"  vote  that 
elects  the  upper  house  of  the  Parliament  with  a  universal 
franchise.  The  King  has  recommended  woman  suffrage  and  a 
bill  has  several  times  passed  the  lower  house  by  a  large 
majority,  but  met  defeat  in  this  upper  chamber. 

The  most  satisfactory  feature  of  the  victory  in  Denmark  is 
that  it  was  won  without  any  animosity  between  men  and  women. 
The  situation  for  the  past  half-dozen  years  has  been  rather 
peculiar.  All  political  parties  were  in  favor  of  granting  women 
suffrage,  there  was  no  objection  from  the  majority  of  the 
Cabinet  and  the  King  was  willing  to  give  his  assent,  but  it  was 
inseparably  bound  up  with  certain  political  reforms  which  the 
Liberals  and  Socialists  were  determined  to  effect.  The  Consti- 
tution provided  that  the  upper  house  of  the  Parliament  should 
consists  of  twelve  members  appointed  by  the  King  for  life  the 
majority  of  the  other  fifty-four  to  be  elected  by  large  taxpayers. 
The  women  urged  that  they  might  be  enfranchised  even  on 
these  terms,  but  the  Liberals  and  Socialists,  who  were  in  control 
of  the  lower  house,  would  adopt  no  measure  that  did  not  reduce 
the  age,  eliminate  the  tax  and  secure  universal  suffrage  for  the 
upper  house.  The  latter  vetoed  every  bill  containing  these  pro- 
visions and  so  suffrage  for  women  always  went  down  with  the 
rest. 

This  deadlock  has  continued  for  years  and  has  prevented 
much  needed  legislation,  especially  that  for  the  defense  of  the 
country.  Probably  the  war  has  contributed  to  an  agreement 
between  the  houses,  for  the  new  Constitution,  with  all  the 
desired  reforms,  has  been  hurried  thru  a  Parliament  elected 
last  year  and  one  recently  assembled  for  this  special  purpose. 
The  King  signed  it  on  the  sixty-sixth  anniversary  of  the  sign- 
ing of  Denmark's  first  Constitution. 

The  women  of  Denmark  have  not  worked  as  long  for  the 
suffrage  as  the  women  of  some  other  countries,  but  their  effort 
has  been  quite  as  vigorous.  They  began  organizing  in  1888 
and  received  their  first  real  stimulus  when  they  affiliated  with 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  185 

the  International  Alliance,  which  was  formed  in  Berlin  in  1904. 
The  first  congress  of  the  Alliance,  held  in  Copenhagen  in  1906, 
gave  a  strong  impetus  to  the  movement  in  Denmark  which  has 
never  slackened. 

The  following  year — 1907 — the  Danish  Parliament  granted 
to  women  a  vote  and  eligibility  for  all  public  boards,  and  in 
1908  it  conferred  the  municipal  suffrage  on  the  same  terms  as 
possest  by  men,  wives  being  able  to  vote  on  the  taxes  paid  by 
husbands.  Then  followed  the  long  deadlock. 

There  has  been  much  that  was  pleasant  in  the  Danish 
women's  quest  for  the  vote  compared  to  the  experience  in 
other  countries.  While  often  disappointed  they  have  never 
been  deceived,  betrayed  or  badly  treated.  They  have  had  their 
enemies  among  the  ultra-conservatives,  but  public  men  in 
general  have  stood  by  them. 

The  women  themselves  have  done  their  part.  Knowing  how 
easy  it  is  for  women  to  be  forgotten,  they  have  increased  their 
organization  until  a  larger  proportion  have  been  enrolled  than 
in  any  other  country.  They  have  hundreds  of  societies,  with 
tens  of  thousands  of  members,  and  have  distributed  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  leaflets.  One  of  the  oldest  organizations  held 
five  hundred  meetings  last  year.  When  their  bill  has  been  up 
for  discussion  they  have  crowded  the  galleries  in  the  House  of 
Parliament ;  they  have  kept  their  question  constantly  before 
the  public  and  have  managed  it  with  tact,  discretion  and  dignity. 
They  have  also  won  favor  by  using  the  suffrage  they  possest, 
an  average  of  about  70  per  cent  voting  at  municipal  elections, 
and  a  large  number  are  serving  on  councils  and  public  boards. 
It  is  not  yet  known  how  many  women  are  enfranchised,  but 
Denmark  has  a  population  of  2,586,000  and  probably  more  than 
a  fourth  are  women  over  twenty-one  years  of  age.  In  Iceland, 
a  dependency  of  Denmark  with  its  own  Parliament,  women 
have  the  full  suffrage. 

The  Parliament  of  Norway  gave  the  municipal  vote  to 
women  in  1901  with  a  small  tax-paying  qualification,  and  in 
1907  the  complete  franchise  on  the  same  terms.  In  1910  it 
abolished  the  tax  requirement  for  the  former  and  in  1912 
for  the  latter.  Women  are  eligible  to  all  offices,  one  has  been 
elected  to  Parliament  and  possibly  a  hundred  or  more  to  city 


i86  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

councils.     There  is  scarcely  a  parliamentary   session  that  does 
not  in  some  way  increase  the  political  rights  of  women. 

The  Scandinavian  countries  have  progressed  steadily  on  this 
question  and  offer  unimpeachable  testimony  to  the  value  of 
woman  suffrage  by  its  continued  extension.  For  more  than  a 
generation  the  universities  have  been  open  to  women  and  they 
have  been  free  to  enter  all  industrial  occupations  and  most  of 
the  professions.  In  no  other  country  of  Europe  are  the  laws 
so  favorable  to  women  in  respect  to  property,  inheritance, 
divorce,  etc.  They  have  long  served  on  public  boards  and  filled 
public  offices  and  government  positions,  and  have  had  almost 
entire  liberty  of  action.  Now  in  granting  the  supreme  privilege 
of  the  suffrage  Scandinavia  has  only  followed  her  consistent 
policy  of  doing  justice  to  women. 

Woman  Suffrage:  History,  Arguments  and  Results,  p.  106-30. 

Man  and  Woman-made  Laws  of  the   Suffrage  States. 
Elinor  Byrnes  and  Helen  A.  Ranlett1 

The  aim  of  this  digest,  first  printed  in  the  New  York 
Evening  Post  of  November  10,  1913,  is  to  include  (i)  laws 
calculated  to  remove  legal  inequalities  between  men  and 
women ;  (2)  laws  generally  considered  "good"  or  "progressive" ; 
(3)  "freak"  laws;  (4)  laws  which  seem  vicious  or  reactionary. 
It  includes  neither  the  administrative  regulations  which  form 
the  larger  part  of  legislation  in  every  state  nor  any  statute 
passed  prior  to  the  establishment  of  equal  suffrage.  That  the 
lists  under  the  several  states  are  so  dissimilar  is  due  in  part 
to  the  fact  that  corresponding  laws  were  passed  in  some  states 
after,  and  in  others  before,  the  enfranchisement  of  women. 

The  classification,  "Children,"  "Women,"  and  "General"  has 
been  chosen  because  the  majority  of  the  questions  which  the 
digest  aims  to  answer  concerned  themselves  with  the  effect  of 
equal  suffrage  on  children,  women,  health,  and  morals.  It  will 
be  noted,  however,  that  many  laws  under  "Women" — especially 
labor  laws — protect  the  interests  of  men  equally  with  those  of 
women,  while  the  majority  of  the  laws  under  "General"  were 
obviously  passed  for  the  benefit  of  all  classes  in  the  community. 

1  Members  of  the  New  York  Bar. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  187 

No  attempt  is  made  here  to  estimate  the  influence  which 
women  as  voters  have  exercised  upon  legislation.  The  digest 
is  intended  merely  as  a  record,  not  of  man-made  laws,  not  of 
woman-made  laws,  but  of  laws  for  which  men  and  women  are 
equally  responsible. 

Alaska 

The  women  of  Alaska  were  enfranchised  in  June,  1913. 

Arizona 
Laws  since  1912: 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Child  Labor  Law,  limiting  the  employment  of  children 
under  16. 

(2)  Providing   for    literary    and  health   tests    for   children 
before  going  to  work. 

(3)  Forbidding  employment  of  girls  and  boys  under  18  in 
dangerous  trades. 

(4)  Limiting  hours  of  labor  of   boys  under   16  and   girls 
under  18  to  48  a  week,  eight  a  day  between  7  a.  m.  and  7  p.  m. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Limiting  hours  of  labor  of  women  to  eight  a  day  and 
56   a  week.    When   only   six   days   are  worked,    10   hours   are 
allowed  one  day  per  week.    Exceptions  are  made  for  nurses, 
and   telephone   and  telegraph   operators   where  not  more   than 
three  are  employed. 

(2)  Compelling  the  provision  of  seats  for  women. 

(3)  A    Mothers'    Pension    law    passed    in    1913,    and    con- 
firmed  by  the   electors   at   the   polls  has    since   been   declared 
unconstitutional. 

GENERAL 

(1)  Providing  for  compensation  for  injured  employees. 

(2)  A  Red  Light  Injunction  and  Abatement  Law,  which  it 
is  claimed  is  a  model  law  to  cover  its  purpose. 

California 
Laws  since  October,  1911: 


i88  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Child  Labor  law.     Minor  twelve  to  fifteen  years  cannot 
be    employed,    unless    he    has    permit    from    Superintendent    of 
Schools.     Minor  under  sixteen  who  is  employed  during  school 
hours  must  go  to  night  school,  unless  he  has  completed  gram- 
mar school.     Minor  under  eighteen,  maximum  eight  hours  per 
day;   forty-eight  hours  per  week;   no  work  10  P.  M. — 5  A.  M. 
But  act  does  not  prohibit  employment  of  minors  at  agricultural, 
horticultural,   viticultural   or   domestic  labor  after   school  hours 
or  in  vacation.     Horticultural  includes   curing  and  drying,   but 
not  canning. 

(2)  Industrial   Welfare    Commission    (one   at   least    of   five 
members  to  be  a  woman)    established  to  fix  hours  of  employ- 
ment, standard  conditions  of  labor,  and  minimum  wage.     Orders 
of  Commission  binding  on  employers. 

(3)  Juvenile  Court  Inquiry  Commission  created.     Act  pro- 
viding  for   care,   custody,    and   maintenance   of   dependent   and 
delinquent    minors.     Probation    Committee,    paid    probation    of- 
ficers,   and    detention    homes    provided     for.     Superior    Court 
given  jurisdiction  over  minors,  and  in  such  cases  called  Juvenile 
Court. 

(4)  State  trades  and  training  school  for  dependent  orphans. 

(5)  Father,   as   well   as   mother,   of   illegitimate  child,  must 
give   him   support   and   education   suitable  to  his   circumstances. 
Civic  action  by  mother  or  guardian  to  enforce  obligation. 

(6)  Penalty  for  rape  raised.     Minimum,  one  year  in  county 
jail;  maximum,  fifty  years  in  state  prison. 

(7)  Free  kindergartens  established. 

(8)  Free  textbooks  for  public  schools. 

(9)  Minor   may  not  assign   wages,   except   in  writing  and 
with  written  consent  of  parent  or  guardian. 

(10)  State  training  school  for  delinquent  girls. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Eight-hour     law      (maximum     forty-eight     hours     per 
week).     Extended  to  include  all  occupations  except  harvesting, 
curing,  canning,  or  drying  perishable   fruit  or  vegetables,   and 
graduate  nursing  in  hospitals. 

(2)  Industrial    welfare    commission    (one    at   least   of   five 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  189 

members  to  be  a  woman)  established  to  fix  hours  of  employ- 
ment, standard  conditions  of  labor,  and  minimum  wage  in  all 
employment.  Orders  of  commission  binding  on  employers. 
But  commission  may  issue  to  a  woman,  physically  defective  by 
age  or  otherwise,  certificate  authorizing  her  employment  for  six 
months  at  less  than  minimum  wage.  Such  license  renewable. 

(3)  Seats  must  be  provided  in  place  of  work. 

(4)  Workmen's    compensation,    insurance,    and    safety    act. 
Question    of    negligence   not   material,   but    no   compensation   if 
injury  due  to  intoxication  or  wilful  misconduct  of  employee. 

(5)  Blacklisting  prohibited. 

(6)  Advertisements  and  solicitations  for  employees   during 
strikes,  lockouts,  and  other  labor  troubles  must  state  that  such 
strike   or  lockout  exists.     But  this  applies  only  to  out-of-town 
advertisements  and  solicitations. 

(7)  Employer,  upon  discharge  or  leaving  of  employee,  for- 
bidden to  misrepresent  and  thereby  attempt  to  prevent  employee 
from  securing  other  employment. 

(8)  Pension  fund  for  public  school  teachers. 

(9)  Equal    guardianship    law.     Equal    right   of    father    and 
mother  to  earnings  of  legitimate,  unmarried  minors. 

(10)  Age  of  consent  raised  to  eighteen  years. 

(n)  Husband  (or  wife)  may  not  assign  wages  except  with 
written  consent  of  wife  (or  husband).  Assignment  valid,  only 
for  wages  already  earned,  except  for  necessaries. 

(12)  Married  women  enabled  to  sue  and  be  sued  separately 
in  certain  cases. 

(13)  Commission   to   investigate   mothers'   pension   and    old 
age  insurance ;  also  a  law  providing  for  pensions  for  widowed 
mothers    of    children    under    fourteen,    when   mothers    in    need. 
Mothers    must    be    American    citizens,    resident    of    county    one 
year,  and  state  three  years. 

GENERAL 

(1)  Red    Light    Abatement    and    Injunction    act     (making 
houses  of  prostitution  a  nuisance  and  providing  for  injunction 
against  manager  of  house,  owner,  lessee,  or  agent,  by  state  or 
private  individual). 

(2)  White  Slave  law. 


ioo  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

(3)  Certificate  of  freedom   from  venereal  disease  required 
of  men  before  marriage  license  is  given. 

(4)  State  regulation  of  nurses. 

(5)  Tuberculosis  department  established  under  State  Board 
of  Health. 

(6)  Cold  Storage  law. 

(7)  Milk  Inspection  law. 

(8)  Law   prohibiting  destruction   of    any   foodstuff   fit   for 
human  consumption. 

(9)  Commission  on   Immigration  and  Housing.     One  duty 
to   "obviate  unemployment." 

(10)  Cruel   and  inhuman   punishments  prohibited  in    State 
prisons  and  reformatories. 

(n)     Commission    to    recommend    recreation    for    old    and 
young  in  towns  and  country. 

Colorado 
Laws  since  1893 : 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Child    Labor    law.     From    fourteen    to    sixteen    years, 
maximum  eight  hours  per  day,  forty-eight  hours  per  week,  and 
not   after   8   P.    M.     Under    fourteen,   wage-earning  prohibited 
during  school  hours.     Minors  under  sixteen,  without  elementary 
education,   must  go  to  night  school,  if  they  work  in  daytime. 
No    male    under    sixteen    and    no    female    of    any    age    can   be 
employed   in   a   coal   mine  or   coke    oven,    except   in   a   clerical 
capacity. 

(2)  State  Wage  Board,  composed  of  one  representative  of 
labor,  one  woman,  and  one  employer,  established  to  determine 
minimum  wage  in  mercantile  and  manufacturing  establishments, 
laundries,   hotels,    restaurants,    telegraph   and   telephone    offices, 
Orders  of  Board  binding  on  employers. 

(3)  Juvenile    Court  and   detention    homes    in    each    county 
with  population  of   ico.ooo  or  over.     One  or  more  paid  proba- 
tion officers  in  each  county  with  a  population  of  over  25,000. 
Criminal  offence  to  contribute  to  delinquency  of  child.    Juvenile 
Court  has  jurisdiction  over  adults  contributing  to  delinquency. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  191 

(4)  Laws  providing  for  care  of  abused,  neglected,  depend- 
ent,   and    delinquent     children.     Parental    and    truant    schools 
authorized. 

(5)  Unlawful  to  publish  photograph  or  name  of   child  in 
case  for  violation  of  statute  against  rape,  or  concerning  delin- 
quency or  dependency  law,  or  in  case  for  protection  or  correc- 
tion of  children. 

(6)  Wilful  failure  to  support  wife  and  children  under  six- 
teen   (either  illegitimate  or  legitimate)    a  felony.     Earnings  of 
man  convicted  and  imprisoned  for  non-support  used  for  support 
of  family. 

(7)  Apprenticeship  of  orphan  children  regulated. 

(8)  Assignment  of  wages  by  minors  not  enforcible. 

(9)  Minors  allowed  separate  bank  accounts. 

(10)  Indecent  liberties  with  children  made  a  felony. 

(n)  Children  may  not  be  sold  and  may  not  be  given  away 
or  disposed  of  by  any  person  or  organization  without  permit 
and  proper  legal  procedure.  Parents  held  liable  for  support  of 
children  in  state  institutions. 

(12)  Separate  industrial  school  for  girls  established.     Ma- 
jority of  Board  of  Control  to  be  women. 

(13)  Examination  in  schools  of  eyes,  ears,  teeth,  and  breath- 
ing capacity.     Medical  attention  given. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Eight  hours   maximum    labor  during  any  twenty- four 
hour  period  in  manufacturing,  mechanical,  or  mercantile  estab- 
lishments, laundries,  hotels,  and  restaurants. 

(2)  State  wage  board  composed  of  one  representative   of 
labor,  one  woman,   and  one  employer,  to   determine  minimum 
wage  for  women  and  minors  in  mercantile  and  manufacturing 
establishments,  laundries,  hotels,  restaurants,  .telegraph  and  tele- 
phone   offices.     Orders    of    board    binding    on    employers.    But 
board  may  issue  special  license  to  female  over  eighteen  who  is 
physically  defective  for  employment  at  less  than  legal  minimum. 

(3)  Minimum  wage  for  teachers  of  not  less  than  $50  per 
month.     Teachers'  pension  provided  for.     Teachers'  certification 
bill. 


IQ2  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

(4)  No  female  of  any  age  to  be  employed  in  coal  mine  or 
coke  oven  except  in  clerical  capacity. 

(5)  Employers'  Liability  law.     Assumption  of  risk  abolished 
except  where  remedying  defect  is  employee's  principal  duty. 

(6)  Free  employment  bureau  established.     Private  agencies 
regulated. 

(7)  Unlawful  to  blacklist,  picket,  boycott,  or  intimidate. 

(8)  Unlawful    for    employer    to    compel    agreement   not    to 
enter  or  remain  in  any  labor  organization. 

(9)  Unlawful   to   obtain  employee  by   false   representation, 
including  failure  to  state  there  is  a  strike  or  lockout. 

(10)  Factory  inspection  law.     Four  deputy   factory  inspec- 
tors ;  one  to  be  woman.    All  paid  the  same  salary. 

(n)  Dower  and  courtesy  abolished,  but  neither  husband  nor 
wife  may  will  away  from  the  other  more  than  half  of  his  or 
her  property  without  the  written  consent  of  the  other. 

(12)  Either    husband    or    wife    may    have    the    homestead 
recorded  as  such,  though  it  is  the  property  of  the  other,  and  it 
cannot  be  sold  except  with  the  consent  of  both. 

(13)  To  contract  marriage  by  false  representation  made  a 
crime. 

(14)  Age  of  consent  raised  to  eighteen. 

(15)  Seduction  made  a  felony. 

(16)  Licensing  of  maternity  homes  and  hospitals. 

(17)  Alimony  may  be  altered  if  wife  remarries. 

(18)  No  assignment  of  wages  by  married  man  valid  without 
signature  of  wife. 

(19)  Pension   to    either   parent    or   to   parents    for   care   of 
child    when    parent    or    parents   unable   to    care    for    child,    but 
considered  to  be  proper  guardian. 

(20)  Married  woman  given  power  to  make  will. 

(21)  Equal  guardianship  law. 

GENERAL 

(1)  Soliciting  for  or  living  on  earnings  of  prostitute  made 
a  felony. 

(2)  Statute  providing    for  punishment    of   keepers    of   dis- 
orderly houses. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  193 

(3)  Cities   and   towns  given  power  to  suppress   disorderly 
houses. 

(4)  Women  may  under  certain  conditions  be  guilty  of  rape 
if  male  is  under  eighteen. 

(5)  Bureau  of  vital  statistics  created. 

(6)  Inspection    of    meat    and    slaughter    houses.     Sanitary 
inspection  of  stock. 

(7)  Pure  food  act.     Law  regulating  sale  of  milk  and  drugs. 

(8)  Act  for  prevention  of  tuberculosis. 

(9)  Unlawful  to  advertise  remedy  for  sexual  disease  except 
in  medical  journal. 

(10)  State  Board  of  Nurse  Examiners. 

(n)  Act    for   protection   of   employee   in   dangerous   work 
on  buildings. 

(12)  Free  traveling  libraries. 

(13)  State  Board  of  School  Examiners. 

(14)  Initiative,   referendum,    and    recall.      (Offices    not   de- 
cisions.) Direct  primaries. 

(15)  Making   "sweat-box"   in    connection  with   prisoners   a 
felony. 

(16)  Red  Light  Injunction  and  Abatement  Law. 

Idaho 
Laws  since  1896 : 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Child    Labor    Law.    Wage-earning    prohibited    during 
school  hours.     From  fourteen  to  sixteen  maximum  is  fifty-hour 
hours  per  week,  nine  hours  per   day.     Any  person  allowing  a 
child  to  be  employed  in   a  theatrical  or   immoral   resort   guilty 
of  misdemeanor. 

(2)  Minors    kept    out    of    poolrooms,    saloons,    and    other 
objectionable  places,  either  as  employees  or  visitors. 

(3)  Juvenile    Delinquent    law.     (Each    county    has    one    or 
more  probation  officers.     Probate  courts  have*  jurisdiction  over 
delinquents.) 

(4)  Protection  of  orphans,  homeless,  abused,  and  neglected 
children  provided  for. 

(5)  Penalty  for  wilful  failure  to  support  minor  children. 


194  SELECTED.  ARTICLES   ON 

(6)  Sale  of  tobacco  and  explosives  to  minors  prohibited. 

(7)  Compulsory  Education  law. 

(8)  Industrial  training  school. 

(9)  Free  kindergartens. 

(10)  Rural  high  schools. 

(n)     State  School  Law  Commission. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Nine-hour    law    for    women    in    all    industries,    except 
harvesting,   packing,   curing,  and   canning   of  perishable   goods. 
Act  to  be  posted  in  place  of  work.     Seats  must  be  provided. 

(2)  Women   kept    out   of   poolrooms,    saloons,    and    other 
objectionable  places,  either  as  employees  or  visitors. 

(3)  Wife  given  absolute  control  of  her  separate  property 
(all  property  acquired  after  marriage,  except  by  gift,  is  com- 
munity property,  and  this  includes  rents  and  profits  from  sep- 
arate property.     Husband  has  management,  but  neither  can  sell 
or   encumber   real  property  without  the   consent   of  the   other. 
R.   S.  1887,  Sec.  2497. 

(4)  Husband  and  wife  given  equal  testamentary  rights  over 
community    property.     Dower    and    courtesy    abolished.     R.    S. 
1887,  Sec.  2506. 

(5)  Married  women  may  sue  and  be  sued  as  if  single. 

(6)  Tax  exemption  of  widows  and  children  on  valuation  not 
over  $5,000. 

(7)  Penalty  for  wilful  failure  to  support  wife. 

(8)  Needy  mothers  whose  husbands  are  dead  or  prisoners 
allowed  specified  sum  monthly  for  each  child  under  fifteen. 

(9)  Provision  for  separate  care  of  female  convicts. 

GENERAL 

(1)  White  Slave  law. 

(2)  Prostitutes  and  those  maintaining  or  frequenting  houses 
of  ill-fame  may  not  vote. 

(3)  Cities  and  villages  given  power  to  regulate  and  suppress 
prostitution. 

(4)  Vital  statistics  registered. 

(5)  State  Board  of  Health  established. 

(6)  Livestock    Sanitary   Board    established.      Inspection   of 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  195 

stock  and  treatment  of  diseased  animals.     Regulation  of  slaugh- 
ter houses. 

(7)  Practice  of  medicine  regulated. 

(8)  Report  required  of  infants  with  sore  eyes. 

(9)  Traffic  in  narcotics  regulated. 

(10)  Sanitary  regulation  of  hotels. 

(n)     Laws  against  bigamy,  adultery,  and  polygamy. 

(12)  Itemized    statement   required   from    charitable,   educa- 
tional, and  penal  institutions. 

(13)  Pure  Food  law. 

(14)  Red  Light  Injuction  and  Abatement  law. 

Kansas 

Laws  since  1912: 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Wages  of  prisoners  given  to  family. 

(2)  Censorship  of  moving  pictures. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Department     of    Labor    and     Industry     created.     One 
woman  deputy  state  factory  inspector  to  be  appointed. 

(2)  Workman's  Compensation  act. 

(3)  Limitation  of  injunction  in  labor  disputes. 

(4)  Women  exempted    from  jury  service   for  any  year  jf 
they  give  notice  to  assessor   of   taxes  when  he  makes   annual 
assessment  on  personal  property. 

(5)  Matrons  provided  for  jails  of  certain  counties. 

(6)  Mothers'  pensions  for  widows. 

GENERAL 

(1)  White  Slave  law. 

(2)  Registration  of  marriages  required. 

(3)  Registration  and  examination  of  nurses  required. 

(4)  Creation  of  small  debtors'  courts. 

(5)  Penalty  for  manufacture  and  sale  of  immoral  postal- 
cards. 

(6)  Restrictions  on  sale  of  drugs  and  medicine. 

(7)  County  attorney  designated  as  divorce  proctor. 


ig6  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

(8)  Sterilization   of   habitual   criminals,  idiots,   insane,   and 
epileptics. 

(9)  Red  Light  Injunction  and  Abatement  law. 

Oregon 
Laws  since  1912: 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Industrial   Welfare    Commission    established    to    decide 
hours  of  employment,  standard  conditions  of  labor,  and  mini- 
mum wage.     Orders  of  Commission  binding  on  employers. 

(2)  State  Industrial  School  for  delinquent  girls  established. 

(3)  Training  of  dependent  girls  in  industrial  arts  provided 
for  in  public  school  system. 

(4)  Wilful   failure   to  support   wife  and  minor  children   a 
felony. 

(5)  Provision   for   care  of   children  of  marriages   declared 
void. 

(6)  Laws  governing  apprentices  repealed. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Industrial  Welfare  Commission  established,  with  power 
to   decide  hours  of   employment,   standard  conditions  of  labor, 
and  minimum   wage.     Orders    of   Commission  binding   on   em- 
ployers.    Special  license  to  physically  defective. 

(2)  State  Industrial  Accident  law,  abolishing,  in  some  cases, 
doctrine  of  fellow  servant,  assumption  of  risk,  and  contributory 
negligence. 

(3)  Teachers'  Pension  act.     Also  act  protecting  teachers  as 
to  term  of  employment  and  discharge. 

(4)  Mother   of    decedent   given    right   of    inheritance    over 
father,  brothers,  and   sisters,  if  decedent  dies  without  wife  or 
husband  or  children. 

(5)  Pensions  paid  to  needy  mothers  of  children  under  six- 
teen, when  husband  is  dead,  imprisoned,  or  incapacitated. 

GENERAL 

(1)  Red  Light  Abatement  and  Injunction  act. 

(2)  Felony  for  man  to  live  on  earnings  of  prostitute  or  in 
house  of  ill-fame  or  solicit  for  prostitute.     Penalty  two  to  fifteen 
years. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  197 

(3)  Medical  certificate  for  men  before  marriage. 

(4)  Live  Stock  Sanitary  Board  created. 

(5)  Regulation  of  sale  of  ice-cream  and  dairy  products. 

(6)  Act  to  prevent  spread  of  tuberculosis. 

(7)  Right  of  action  for  damages  created  against  any  per- 
son  selling,   exchanging,   or  giving   intoxicating  liquors   to  any 
intoxicated  person  or  habitual  drunkard. 

Utah 

The  women  of  Utah  were  enfranchised  in  1896.  But  the 
compilers  of  this  digest  did  not  have  access  to  the  Session  Laws 
from  1896-1907.  The  Revised  Statutes  of  1907  do  not  give  the 
date  of  the  passage  of  the  laws  included  therein.  Therefore, 
with  a  very  few  exceptions  the  laws  digested  here  were  passed 
after  1907. 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Child  labor  laws — No  child  under  fourteen  may  work 
in  a  mine  or  smelter.     No  boy  tinder  fourteen  and  no  girl  under 
sixteen   may   be    employed    at   any   work    other   than    domestic 
service,  fruit  or  vegetable  packing,  or  work  on  a  farm  for  more 
than    fifty-four    hours   per    week.     In   cities    of    the    first    and 
second  class,  messengers  doing  night  work  or  sent  to  places  of 
objectionable  character  must  be  over  twenty-one.     No  boy  under 
twelve  and  no  girl  under  sixteen  shall  peddle  on  the  streets,  and 
no  child  under  twelve  work  as  bootblack.    Exceptions.     Unlaw- 
ful to  pay  less  than  75  cents  per  day  to  female  minors. 

(2)  Juvenile  Court  Commission  created  and  Juvenile  Court 
in  each  district  with  jurisdiction  over  adults  aiding  delinquency. 

(3)  Care  of  dependent  and  neglected  children. 

(4)  Establishment  of  parental  schools. 

(5)  Separate  detention  homes  for  boys  and  girls. 

(6)  Desertion  of  child  by  parent  or  guardian  punished  by 
imprisonment  of  from  six  months  to  five  years. 

(7)  Penalty  for  criminal  neglect  of  children  by  parents  or 
guardian. 

(8)  Bastardy  act  providing  for  support  of  illegitimate  chil- 
dren.    Father  may  have  custody  after  ten  years.     But  mother 
may   release   father   from   legal   liability   upon    terms   approved 
by  the  court  and  upon  payment  of  not  less  than  $500. 


198  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

(9)  Indecent    assault   on  children   under   fourteen   made  a 
felony. 

(10)  Minors  forbidden  to  buy  opium,  tobacco,  or  liquors, 
(n)     Establishment  of  free  kindergartens. 

(12)     Curfew  law. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Nine-hour  law.     Maximum  fifty-four  hours  per  week, 
except  in  cases  of  emergency,  or  where  life  and  property  are  in 
danger,  or  where  materials  are  liable  to  spoil. 

(2)  Minimum  Wage  law,  making  it  unlawful  to  pay  less 
than   75   cents  per   day  to  female   minors    under    18;   90   cents 
per  day  to  adult  learners   and  apprentices,   and  $1.25  per  day 
to  experienced  adults. 

(3)  Seats  must  be  furnished  wherever  women  are  employed. 

(4)  Women  not  allowed  to  work  in  mines  or  smelters. 

(5)  No  woman  under  twenty-one  may  be  employed  in  any 
place  where  alcoholic  liquors  are  manufactured  or  dispensed. 

(6)  Regulation  of   employment   offices.     Penalty   for   send- 
ing women  to  improper  places. 

(7)  Wilful  neglect  or  desertion  of  wife  is  made  a  misde- 
meanor. 

(8)  Age  of  consent  raised  to  eighteen. 

(9)  Mothers  pensions  for  partial  support  of  children  under 
fifteen  when  mothers  are  dependent  on  their  own  efforts   for 
maintenance  of  their   children.    Allowance  is  made  only  when 
mothers  would  otherwise  be  compelled  to  go  out  to  work. 

(10)  Equal  Guardianship  law. 

GENERAL 

(1)  Pandering  prohibited. 

(2)  Cities  have  power  to  suppress  and  prohibit  disorderly 
houses. 

(3)  Manufacture    and    sale    of    white    phosphorus    matches 
forbidden. 

(4)  Pure  Food  law. 

(5)  Inspection  of  dairy  and  food  products. 

(6)  Inspection  of  slaughter  houses,  packing  houses,  dairies, 
and  creameries. 

(7)  Sale  of  drugs  and  narcotics  regulated. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  199 

(8)  Made  misdemeanor  to  furnish  liquor,  opium,  or  tobacco 
to  minors. 

(9)  Report  required  of  birth  of  child  with  inflamed  eyes. 

(10)  Registration  and  report  of  all  cases  of  venereal  dis- 
ease.   But  name  of  person  affected  not  to  be  reported. 

(n)  Tuberculosis  to  be  reported.    . 

(12)  Unlawful  to  compel  vaccination. 

(13)  Pool-selling  and  book-making  a  felony. 

(14)  Public  library  system  established. 

(15)  Red  Light  Injunction  and  Abatement  law. 

Washington 
Laws  since  1910: 

CHILDREN 

(1)  Industrial  welfare  commission  established  to  fix  hours 
of  employment,  standard  conditions  of  labor,  and  minimum  wage. 
Orders  of  commission  are  binding  on  employers. 

(2)  Juvenile  Court  sessions  in  counties  of  30,000  or  more. 
Probation  officers  provided. 

v  (3)  Desertion  of  children  by  parents  or  guardian  or  wilful 
failure  of  husband  to  support  wife  or  children  a  gross  misde- 
meanor. If  man  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  desertion,  earn- 
ings paid  to  the  family. 

(4)  State  school  for  delinquent  girls.     Superintendent  and 
all  subordinate  officers  to  be  women. 

(5)  Public  school  system  unified. 

(6)  Free  kindergartens. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Eight-hour  law  in  mechanical  or  mercantile  establish- 
ment, laundry,  hotel,  or  restaurant,  but  not  in  establishment  for 
harvesting,  packing,  curing,  or  drying  perishable  materials. 

(2)  Industrial  welfare  commission  established  to  fix  hours 
of  employment,  standard  conditions  of  labor,  and  minimum  wage. 
Orders  of  commission  are  binding  on  employers.     Special  license 
to  physically  defective.     Seats   must  be   provided  in  places  of 
work. 

(3)  Workman's  Compensation  law.    Doctrine  of  negligence 
abolished  except  in  certain  cases. 


200  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

(4)  Teachers'  retirement  fund  created. 

(5)  Pension  allowed  to  mothers  of   children  under  fifteen 
if  husband  is  dead,  imprisoned,  insane,  or  totally  disabled. 

(6)  Law  requiring  corroborative   evidence   in   rape,   seduc- 
tion, etc.,  abolished. 

GENERAL 

(1)  Red  Light  Abatement  and  Injunction  act. 

(2)  Sale  of  milk  and  cream  regulated. 

(3)  Registration  of  births  and  deaths. 

(4)  School  buildings  to  be  used  for  social  centres. 

(5)  Initiative  and  Referendum. 

(6)  Death  penalty  for  murder  abolished. 

Wyoming 
Laws  since  1869: 

CHILDREN 

(1)  No  boy  under  fourteen  or  female  of  any  age  may  be 
employed  in  any  coal,  iron,  or  other  dangerous  mine  except  in 
office  work.     No  minor  under  eighteen  may  be  hoisting  engineer 
in  mine. 

(2)  Eight-hour  day  in  mines. 

(3)  Parole  of  minor  prisoners  under  care  of  courts. 

(4)  Care  and  training  of  delinquent  children.     Juvenile  de- 
linquents kept  separate  in  jails  when  practicable.     Parents'  visits 
permitted. 

(5)  Care  of   indigent  minors  and   those   under  vicious  in- 
fluences. 

(6)  Minor  over  fourteen  may  nominate  own  guardian  sub- 
ject to  approval  of  court. 

(7)  Desertion  of  children  without  provision  for  their  sup- 
port a  felony. 

(8)  Bastardy  law.     Man  adjudged  father  required  to  sup- 
port child.     Imprisoned  if  he  fails  to  give  bond  and  pay  cost  of 
prosecution. 

(9)  Killing  unborn  child  by  wilful  assault  on  mother  man- 
slaughter. 

(10)  Free  high  schools  established, 
(n)     Free  kindergartens  established. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  201 

(12)  Physiology  and  hygiene  taught  in  public  schools  with 
reference  to  alcohol  and  narcotics. 

(13)  Selling  liquor,  tobacco,  or  deadly  weapons  to  minors 
forbidden. 

(14)  Exhibition    and    hypnotizing    of    children     forbidden. 
Unlawful  to  endanger  life  or  health  of  child. 

WOMEN 

(1)  Equal  pay  is  given  for  equal  work  in  public  schools. 

(2)  Seats  required  in  all  places  of  work. 

(3)  Contract  exempting  employer  from  liability  void. 

(4)  Married  women's  property  act. 

(5)  Dower  and  courtesy  abolished.     Surviving  husband  or 
wife  receives  one-half,  if  children;  three-quarters,  if  no  children, 
and  all  if  no  children  and  estate  under  $10,000.     Married  woman 
must  join  in  sale  of  homestead. 

(6)  Married  woman  may  contract,  sue,  be  sued,  carry  on 
business,  and  make  will. 

(7)  Surviving    mother    allowed    guardianship    of    children, 
though  she  remarries. 

(8)  Desertion  of  wife  without  provision  for  her  support  a 
felony. 

(9)  Age  of  consent  raised  to  eighteen. 

(10)  Married  woman  may,  after  notice  on  keeper  of  saloon, 
or   other    resort,  bring  an  action   against  him    for   injuries  to 
husband  through  drink  or  gambling. 

(n)     Mothers'  pensions. 

GENERAL 

(1)  White  Slave  law. 

(2)  Keeping  a  disorderly  house  or  knowingly  leasing  for 
that  purpose  illegal. 

(3)  Registration  of  births  and  deaths  required. 

(4)  Competent    witness    necessary    for    securing    marriage 
license. 

(5)  County  and  State  Boards  of  Health  established. 

(6)  Practice  of  medicine  regulated. 

(7)  Sale  of  drugs  and  narcotics  regulated. 

(8)  Pure  Food  law. 


202  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

(9)  Duelling  and  prize-fighting  made  illegal. 

(10)  Saloons  closed  on  Sundays  and  Election  Day. 
(n)     Examination  and  registration  of  nurses  required. 

(12)  Gambling  devices  must  be  seized  and  destroyed  after 
any  complaint  made  under  oath. 

(13)  Extortion  on  small  loans  made  misdemeanor. 

Effect  of  Vote  of  Women  on  Legislation. 

An  Investigation  in  the  Equal  Suffrage  States  Made  in  Decem- 
ber, 1913,  by  The  Evening  Sun,  of  New  York  City  and 
Brought  up  to  the  End  of  the  Legislative  Session  of  1915 

Do  women  who  have  the  vote  vote? 
What  laws  have  their  votes  passed? 

Is  woman  suffrage  considered  a  success  by  the  states  that 
have  it? 

The  gist  of  an  exhaustive  questionnaire  sent  out  by  The 
Evening  Sun  is  in  the  three  sentences  above.  Eight  questions  in 
all  were  forwarded  to  correspondents  of  this  newspaper  in  the 
suffrage  states,  with  orders  that  the  investigation  be  absolutely 
unbiased. 

The  results  are  offered  at  a  time  when  both  suffrage  and 
anti-suffrage  organizations  are  making  year-end  estimates,  claims 
and  counterclaims  in  regard  to  "votes." 

Women  who  have  the  vote  do  vote.  Their  ballot  has  already 
passed  a  considerable  body  of  law.  The  suffrage  states  seem 
to  be  satisfied  to  have  women  go  on  voting. 

That  is  the  gist  of  the  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  a  com- 
pilation of  the  correspondents'  replies. 

Thorough  Impartial  Inquiry 

The  information,  it  was  hoped  in  planning  the  investigation, 
would  have  two  characteristics.  It  would  be  first-hand  informa- 
tion, direct  from  the  suffrage  states,  and  it  would  be  impartial, 

obtained  by  trained  reporters.     It  has  taken  a  number  of  weeks 

for  the  correspondents  to  complete  the  inquiry. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  203 

The  questionnaire  sent  out  by  the  Evening  Sun  to  its  corre- 
spondents read  as  follows : 
The  Evening  Sun's  Questions  on  the  Effect  of  Woman  Suffrage 

1.  What  laws,  if  any,  have  been  passed  in  your  state  which 
are  directly  traceable  to  woman  suffrage? 

2.  What  popular  reforms,  if  any,  can  be  traced  to  woman 
suffrage  ? 

3.  What  laws   or  reforms   are  being  agitated  but   not  yet 
adopted  as  a  result  of  woman  suffrage? 

4.  How  many  women  are   entitled  to  vote  in  your   state? 
What  proportion  of  them  do  vote? 

5.  Have  women  derived  any  direct  benefits  from  Suffrage? 

6.  Are  women  generally  in  favor  of  radical  legislation,  such 
as   the   Initiative   and    Referendum    and   the    Recall?    What   is 
their  attitude  on  the  liquor  question?     On  factory  laws? 

7.  Do  the  disreputable  women  generally  vote,  and  have  they 
ever  produced  any  noticeable  effect  on  the  result  of  any  elec- 
tion in  favor  of  corrupt  politicians  or  bad  measures? 

8.  Is  woman  suffrage  generally  considered  a  success  in  your 
state?     Has  it  improved  the  tone  of  politics? 

The  Evening  Sun  desires  absolutely  impartial  and  unbiased 
replies  to  all  these  questions. 

The  actual  legislation  directly  resultant  from  the  woman 
vote  was  what  the  correspondents  paid  particular  attention  to. 
The  legislation  runs  along  parallel  lines  in  every  state  where 
the  woman  have  the  ballot  and  deals  largely  with  labor  ques- 
tions, particularly  affecting  the  working  conditions  and  wages 
of  women  and  children,  the  social  evil,  pensions  for  mothers 
and  education  and  care  of  children. 

Some  of  the  suffrage  states  have  passed  no  legislation  on 
these  questions  and  it  is  noted  that  elsewhere  similar  legislation 
was  adopted  before  women  voted.  However,  the  investigators 
seemed  to  consider  that  women's  influence  passed  the  bills 
where  women's  votes  had  no  chance  to  help. 

This  comparative  statement  does  not  take  in  Illinois,  where 
women  have  been  granted  only  limited  suffrage. 

In  no  case  is  there  any  intimation  that  the  votes  of  dis- 
reputable women  affect  the  elections. 


204  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

General  Tenor  of  "Women's  Laws 

Labor  laws  directly  affecting  women  and  children  have  been 
passed  in  Arizona,  California,  Colorado,  Kansas,  Idaho,  Oregon, 
Utah,  Washington  and  Wyoming.  California,  Colorado,  Kansas, 
Oregon,  Utah  and  Washington  have  minimum  wage  laws  and 
Idaho  has  an  industrial  commission  now  investigating  this 
question. 

California,  Colorado,  Montana,  Oregon  and  Washington  have 
workmen's  compensation  laws  with  pensions  and  minimum 
wage  for  school  teachers  in  California,  Colorado  and  Nevada. 

There  are  mothers'  pension  laws  in  every  one  of  the  equal 
suffrage  states.  There  are  laws  punishing  husbands  and  fathers 
for  desertion  in  Colorado,  Utah,  Washington  and  Wyoming. 
In  every  one  of  the  equal  suffrage  states  the  women  have  been 
granted  guardianship  of  their  children  equally  with  the  father, 
and  the  property  laws  have  been  revised  so  that  the  married 
woman  stands  practically  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  man. 

Laws  against  disorderly  houses  have  been  adopted  in  all  the 
suffrage  states.  California,  Idaho  and  Wyoming  have  passed 
extraordinarily  stringent  white  slave  laws. 

California  and  Oregon  have  passed  laws  requiring  health 
certificates  before  the  granting  of  marriage  licenses. 

Colorado  and  Washington  have  adopted  the  initiative,  refer- 
endum and  recall;  most  of  the  other  equal  suffrage  states  had 
these  laws  before  suffrage  was  granted  the  women. 

The  following  are  the  reports  of  the  correspondents : 

Arizona:    The    Woman    Vote 

The  women  of  Arizona  were  enfranchised  in  1912.  In  1914, 
two  women  were  elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  one  to  the 
Senate,  the  other  to  the  House,  and  seven  became  county  school 
superintendents.  It  was  conceded  that  the  votes  of  the  women 
contributed  largely  to  carrying  the  prohibition  amendment  to  the 
State  Constitution.  A  measure  for  old  age  and  mothers'  pen- 
sions was  carried  by  the  popular  vote  in  1914  but  was  after- 
wards declared  unconstitutional.  Since  the  women  were  enfran- 
chised, Arizona  has  passed  an  eight-hour  law  for  women  in 
laundries;  an  excellent  red  light  injunction  and  abatement  law, 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  205 

and  a  law  raising  the  exemption  of  property  for  widows  from 
$1,000  to  $2,000  for  all  possessed  of  less  than  $5,000. 

Mr.  Sidney  P.  Osborn,  Secretary  of  State  of  Arizona,  writes 
under  date  of  January  25,  1915:  "There  are  no  statistics  avail- 
able in  this  office  comparing  the  number  of  women  who  reg- 
istered and  voted  at  the  election  held  on  November  3rd,  last.  It 
is  the  general  impression  that  the  number  of  women  who  took 
advantage  of  the  right  of  suffrage  at  the  recent  election,  which 
was  the  first  election  held  in  this  state  at  which  they  had  that 
right,  was  much  larger  than  the  percentage  of  men  who  availed 
themselves  at  that  election  and  also  those  held  in  the  past." 

California:   Much  Accomplished 

In  the  first  session  of  the  California  Legislature,  after  the 
women  of  the  state  won  the  ballot,  a  number  of  laws  providing 
for  radical  reforms  were  passed. 

The  report  from  the  California  correspondent  is  as  follows : 

The  following  laws,  all  of  which  had  the  official  indorsement 
of  the  women's  organizations,  were  passed  in  1913 : 

The  "red  light  abatement"  act,  making  disorderly  houses  a 
nuisance. 

The  minimum  wage  law,  creating  a  commission  of  industrial 
welfare,  with  powers  to  investigate  industries  where  women  and 
children  are  employed  and  regulate  conditions  of  employment. 

An  amendment  to  the  women's  eight-hour  law  already  in 
force,  extending  its  provisions  to  nurses  in  training  and  workers 
in  apartment  houses. 

The  child  labor  amendment,  providing  that  no  minor  under 
18  shall  be  employed  more  than  eight  hours  a  day,  and  that  no 
minor  under  15  shall  be  employed  for  wages  or  profit.  Certain 
exceptions  are  made.  (The  previous  law  read  12  years.) 

A  law  establishing  a  state  training  school  for  delinquent  girls, 
with  an  appropriation  of  $200,000. 

The  equal  guardianship  act,  giving  the  mother  equal  rights 
with  the  father  to  the  custody,  services  and  earnings  of  a  legiti- 
mate unmarried  minor  child. 

A  law  providing  that  a  married  woman  may  sue  and  be  sued 


206  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

separately  from  her  husband  in  cases  concerning  her  separate 
property,  her  right  to  homestead  property,  etc. 

A  law  denning  crimes  against  women  and  raising  the  age  of 
consent  from  16  to  18  years.  A  law  raising  the  penalty  for  such 
crimes ;  now  ten  to  fifty  years  imprisonment,  formerly  five  to 
ten  years. 

An  act  requiring  fathers  to  support  illegitimate  children. 

In  1915  there  were  passed  acts  providing  for  the  better  educa- 
tion of  nurses,  and  better  care  of  the  sick;  and  for  the  better 
care  of  the  feeble-minded. 

Also  several  acts  for  the  improvement  of  the  schools  and  for 
the  provision  of  intermediate  and  post  graduate  courses. 

An  act  creating  a  public  defender  for  poor  persons  in  crimi- 
nal cases. 

An  act  providing  for  home  teachers  to  work  among  immi- 
grant families ;  to  instruct  adults  and  children  in  matters  relating 
to  school  attendance;  to  sanitation;  in  the  English  language;  in 
household  economy;  and  in  American  citizenship. 

An  act  giving  married  women  complete  control  of  their  sep- 
arate property.  An  act  giving  power  to  the  Industrial  Commis- 
sion to  make  rulings  concerning  the  canneries.  A  thorough  in- 
vestigation of  the  canning  industry,  preparatory  to  regulation, 
was  made  in  1914. 

No  separate  statistics  of  men  and  women  voters  are  available  $ 
but  in  1910,  the  last  election  when  men  only  voted,  the  total 
vote  for  Governor  was  385,652 ;  in  1914  it  was  926,764. 

Over  twenty  new  women's  organizations  have  formed  since 
the  suffrage  was  granted. 

Colorado:  Suffrage  a  Success 

The  most  notable  thing  about  Colorado  is  the  large  percent- 
age of  women  who  take  advantage  of  their  voting  privilege. 
Of  the  125,000  women  who  are  registered  in  the  state,  fully  90 
per  cent,  go  to  the  polls  regularly.  The  report  is  as  follows: 

Since  the  adoption  of  equal  suffrage  in  Colorado  in  1893, 
important  laws,  owing  their  inception  or  final  enactment  to 
woman  suffrage,  have  been  placed  on  the  statute  books.  These 
include : 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  207 

A  child  labor  law  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  of  children 
aged  from  14  to  16  to  eight  a  day. 

Law  establishing  state  wage  board  with  'power  to  fix  mini- 
mum rates  for  women  and  minors. 

Law  establishing  juvenile  courts,  detention  homes  and  proba- 
tion officers. 

Law  providing  for  care  of  neglected,  dependent  and  delin- 
quent children. 

Law  limiting  hours  of  work  of  women  to  eight  a  day. 

Age  of  consent  raised  to  eighteen. 

At  the  election  of  1914  state-wide  prohibition  was  adopted, 
and  in  the  session  of  1915  an  excellent  red  light  injunction  and 
abatement  law  was  passed.  In  1915  also  the  Legislature  passed 
a  comprehensive  workmen's  compensation  act. 

Woman  suffrage  is  generally  considered  a  success  in  Colo- 
rado, and  the  women  vote  in  about  the  same  proportion  as 
the  men. 

Idaho:  Conditions  Better 

Women  have  voted  in  Idaho  for  nineteen  years.  The  sub- 
jects of  working  conditions  for  women  and  children  and  in 
general  the  care  of  children,  the  putting  down  of  the  social  evil, 
the  restricting  of  the  sale  of  liquors,  and  similar  legislation 
have  been  particularly  noticeable  since  women  have  begun  to 
vote. 

The  report  of  the  Idaho  correspondent  on  the  questions  sent 
him  was  as  follows : 

Idaho  has  a  good  labor  law  affecting  women  and  children, 
including  a  nine-hour  restriction  for  women  and  the  same  for 
children  over  the  school  age.  It  is  forbidden  to  employ  chil- 
dren in  theatres  or  resorts. 

A  white  slave  law  was  passed  and  a  disorderly  house  law 
giving  city  and  village  authorities  power  to  suppress  these  places. 
Inmates  of  these  houses  and  proprietors  are  not  allowed  to  vote. 

The  benefits  that  women  have  derived  from  suffrage  are 
mainly  through  legislation  affecting  their  work  and  status  in 
marriage.  \ 

The  women  voters  are  not  any  more  radical  than  the  men. 


208  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

On  the  liquor  question  they  favor  restriction.  In  factory 
legislation  they  appear  to  favor  legislation  looking  for  the 
bettering  of  the  conditions  of  workers. 

Woman  suffrage  has  aided  in  bettering  conditions  generally. 

In  the  session  of  1915  Idaho  adopted  the  red  light  injunction 
and  abatement  law;  and  a  law  providing  for  state- wide  prohi- 
bition from  January,  1915,  pending  the  popular  vote  on  a  pro- 
hibition amendment  to  the  State  Constitution.  This  amendment, 
much  more  stringent  than  the  law,  if  accepted,  will  become 
operative  May  i,  1917. 

An  Industrial  Commission  was  appointed  to  investigate  con- 
ditions of  work  and  wages  of  women  and  minors  and  report  on 
advisability  of  establishing  a  minimum  wage  board. 

A  married  woman's  property  act  was  passed  giving  a  wife 
control  of  her  own  property  and  earnings. 

Mothers  were  made  equal  guardians  with  the  fathers  of  their 
legitimate  children. 

Illinois:  Betterments   Under  Way 

Illinois  women  vote  for  presidential  electors  and  for  all 
municipal  officers.  They  do  not  vote  for  Senators,  Congress- 
men, Governor,  or  State  Senators  or  Representatives.  The 
Illinois  report  is  as  follows : 

In  Illinois  women  may  vote  for  offices  created  by  statute, 
for  Presidential  electors  and  on  all  state  questions. 

Approximately  1,500,000  women  are  entitled  to  vote. 

Initiative,  referendum  and  the  recall  are  favored. 

On  the  liquor  question  the  women  are  against  the  saloon. 

On  factory  laws  the  women  take  the  credit  for  the  recent 
legislation  for  bettering  working  conditions. 

The  disreputable  element  has  taken  little  part  in  the  elections. 

The  influence  of  Illinois  women  on  the  state  Legislature  is 
indirect,  but  the  possession  of  a  considerable  degree  of  voting 
power  has  greatly  strengthened  this  influence. 

Kansas:  Early  Results 

Equal  suffrage  was  the  rule  in  all  municipal  elections  in 
Kansas  for  fifteen  years  before  women  were  given  full  suffrage 
in  1912. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  209 

In  municipal  elections  the  women  voted  in  about  the  same 
proportion  as  the  men.  Their  first  vote  for  members  of  the 
State  Legislature  was  cast  in  November,  1914,  and  the  record 
of  the  Legislature  then  elected  is  rich  in  reforms  demanded  by 
women.  The  laws  passed  in  the  session  of  1915  include: 

Acts  authorizing  towns  to  establish  free  public  libraries, 
reading  rooms,  rest  rooms,  parks  and  hospitals. 

An  act  establishing  pensions  for  mothers  in  case  of  death, 
desertion,  incapacity  or  legal  confinement  of  husband. 

An  act  giving  right  to  damages  against  town  or  city  for 
injury  to  person,  property  or  means  of  support  due  to  intoxica- 
tion of  husband  or  father. 

An  act  giving  to  wife,  child  or  employer  right  to  damages 
for  injury  due  to  intoxication  against  owner  of  place  where 
liquor  was  sold. 

An  act  establishing  boards  of  public  welfare  for  supervision 
of  dance  halls  and  amusement  places. 

An  act  providing  that  prisoners'  earnings  shall  be  paid  to 
wife  and  children. 

An  act  establishing  an  industrial  welfare  commission  with 
power  to  fix  minimum  rates  of  wages,  reasonable  hours  and 
sanitary  conditions  for  women  and  minors. 

An  act  providing  pensions  for  incapacitated  firemen  and  for 
widows  and  children  of  firemen. 

Montana:  Some  Good  Laws 

"The  women  of  Montana  were  enfranchised  in  1914.  The 
Legislature  of  1915  was  not  elected  with  the  help  of  the  women 
but  several  laws,  promoted  by  the  women's  organizations,  were 
passed  in  the  session  of  1915.  These  included: 

A  mothers'  pension  act. 

An  act  giving  mothers  equal  rights  with  fathers  over  their 
children. 

An  act  giving  married  women  control  of  their  own  property 
and  making  both  father  and  mother  liable  for  necessaries  for 
family  and  for  education  of  the  children. 

An  act  providing  that  a  Constitutional  Amendment  for  state- 
wide prohibition  shall  be  submitted  to  the  voters  in  1916. 

An  act  providing  for  juvenile  courts  and  probation  officers. 


210  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

Nevada:    The  Women  Displeased 

The  Woman  Suffrage  Amendment  to  the  Nevada  Consti- 
tution was  also  adopted  in  1914.  The  Legislature  of  1915 
aroused  great  resentment  among  the  women  by  passing  the 
race  track  bill,  legalizing  gambling  and  the  easy  divorce  bill. 
Nevertheless  the  influence  of  the  women  was  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing acts: 

An  act  giving  the  mother  an  equal  share  with  the  father  in 
the  estate  of  a  deceased  child. 

An  act  providing  for  pensions  for  mothers. 

An  act  providing  for  pensions  for  retired  teachers. 

An  act  providing  for  kindergartens  in  communities  where 
there  are  at  least  25  children  of  kindergarten  age. 

Oregon:  Showing  Is  Good 

Woman  suffrage  in  Oregon  is  showing  results.  Laws  bene- 
fiting women  have  been  passed  and  the  general  tone  of  politics 
is  better.  The  report  follows  : 

Woman  suffrage  was  adopted  in  Oregon  in  November,  1912. 

State-wide  prohibition  was  adopted  by  the  voters  at  the 
election  of  1914,  the  first  election  at  which  the  women  voted. 

In  the  session  of  1915  there  were  seven  acts  passed  in  re- 
sponse to  the  demands  of  the  women.  These  were: 

An  act  creating  juvenile  courts. 

An  act  providing  pensions  for  mothers. 

An  act  permitting  schoolhouses  to  be  used  as  .civic  centres 
and  authorizing  the  use  of  school  funds  for  lighting,  janitor 
service,  etc. 

An  act  abolishing  the  death  penalty.  This  confirmed  a  state 
amendment  voted  upon  in  1914. 

An  act  providing  for  the  carrying  into  effect  of  the  vote  on 
prohibition — effective  January  i,  1916. 

An  act  providing  for  equal  pay  for  equal  work  for  men  and 
women  teachers. 

Utah:   Voting  Has  Helped  Women 

In  considering  woman  suffrage  in  Utah  it  must  be  noted  that 
suffrage  came  with  statehood,  so  that  all  sessions  of  the  State 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  211 

Legislature  have  felt  the  effect  of  the  women's  influence.  The 
adoption  of  the  anti-gambling  law,  the  radical  state  liquor  law 
and  legislation  looking  toward  the  abatement  of  the  social  evil 
and  the  care  of  children  especially  are  noted  as  showing  the 
effect  of  the  vote. 

The  following  laws  are  listed  as  legislation  directly  due  to 
woman  suffrage : 

Appropriations  for  children's  institutions;  law  giving  hus- 
band and  wife  joint  guardianship  of  minor  children  and  joint 
rights  to  earnings  of  children ;  minimum  wage  scale  for  women ; 
abandonment  or  wilful  neglect  of  wife  or  child  made  punish- 
able ;  mothers'  pension  bill. 

Probably  85,000  or  90,000  women  are  entitled  to  vote. 

Generally  speaking,  the  women  of  Utah  have  been  benefited 
by  the  passage  of  laws. 

Generally  speaking,  the  women  of  Utah  are  in  favor  of 
either  prohibition  or  strict  regulation. 

Unless  "rounded  up,"  as  formerly,  the  disreputable  women 
show  little  interest  in  voting. 

Woman  suffrage  has  improved  the  tone  of  politics. 

Washington:  An  Excellent  Report 

The  report  from  Washington  was  in  general  the  best  in 
favor  of  the  women  voters. 

The  report  is  as  follows : 

Among  the  laws  in  Washington  which  are  directly  traceable 
to  woman  suffrage  are: 

An  act  providing  for  the  creation  of  a  women's  industrial 
welfare  commission  with  power  to  regulate  conditions  of  work 
and  to  fix  minimum  rates  of  wages. 

Mothers'  pension  law  by  which  widows  and  deserted  wives 
in  destitute  circumstances  receive  pensions  from  the  counties  in 
which  they  live. 

Red  light  abatement  law,  similar  to  the  Iowa  statute. 

Abolition  of  capital  punishment  through  the  Goss  bill. 

"Lazy  husband"  law,  by  which  deserting  husbands  are  forced 
to  work  in  a  county  stockade  and  $1.50  a  day  is  paid  their 
families  for  each  day's  work. 


212  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

In  the  session  of  1915  the  scope  of  the  Industrial  Welfare 
Commission  was  extended  to  include  telephone  girls. 

An  act  was  passed  authorizing  towns  to  establish  and  main- 
tain free  libraries,  and  probably  the  most  inclusive  workmen's 
compensation  law  in  the  country  was  added  to  the  statute  book. 

Wyoming 

The  most  important  and  notable  victory  forced  and  gained 
by  the  influence  of  the  women's  vote  in  Wyoming  was  the 
passage  of  the  anti-gambling  law  in  1901. 

The  women  helped  to  give  Wyoming  a  pure  food  and  drug 
law. 

In  1915  the  women  obtained  the  passage  of  a  mothers'  pension 
act. 

Wife  and  child  desertion  was  made  an  extraditable  crime. 

The  hours  of  labor  of  women  were  limited  to  ten  a  day. 

Married  women  were  given  complete  control  of  their  own 
property. 

Inheritance  by  husband  and  wife,  father  and  mother,  was 
made  exactly  equal. 

Mothers  were  given  equal  rights  with  fathers  over  their 
children. 

Women  in  Wyoming  have  benefited  from  suffrage.  They 
incline  toward  radical  legislation. 

They  are  strong  for  strict  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

The  vote  of  disreputable  women  has  not  been  noticeable. 

Woman  suffrage  is  considered  a  success  in  Wyoming  and  has 
improved  politics. 

The  following  resolution  passed  by  the  Legislature  of 
Kansas  is  typical  of  resolutions  that  have  been  passed  by  a 
number  of  the  equal  suffrage  states : 

WHEREAS,  The  women  of  our  state  exercised  the  right  of 
universal  suffrage  at  the  last  election  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  Kansas,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  right  to  vote  was  exercised  by  them  generally 
and  with  manifest  interest  in  the  questions  at  issue,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  right  was  exercised  by  them  on  the  basis  of 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  213 

informed  intelligence  and  their  vote  was  the  expression  of 
individual  views  of  party  principles,  neither  being  one-sided  nor 
prejudiced,  but  having  been  given  for  such  political  measures 
as  appealed  to  their  judgment  to  be  right; 

THEREFORE  BE  IT  RESOLVED  by  the  Senate  of  Kansas,  the 
House  concurring  therein:  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  this 
Legislature  that  the  granting  of  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the 
women  of  the  state,  so  long  withheld  from  them,  was  not  only 
an  act  of  justice  to  a  disfranchised  class  but  that  it  also  has 
proven  to  be  of  great  good  to  the  state  and  to  the  women 
themselves. 

National  Municipal  Review.  4:  437-47-  July,  ^S- 
Are  Women  a  Force  for  Good  Government?  Edith  Abbott. 

What  effect  did  the  women's  vote  actually  have  on  the  recent 
municipal  election  in  Chicago?  Were  any  candidates  nominated 
or  elected  who  would  not  have  been  nominated  and  elected  with- 
out the  women's  votes?  If  the  women  did  not  actually  change 
the  result  of  the  election,  did  they  vote  more  largely  than  men 
for  the  best  candidates? 

In  attempting  to  answer  these  questions,  which  have  been 
so  frequently  asked  in  so  many  parts  of  the  country  since  the 
election,  it  is  not  necessary  to  indulge  in  speculation.  The 
women  of  Illinois  have  only  limited  suffrage,  and  special 
"women's  ballots"  are  provided  for  their  use  and  these  ballots 
are  counted  separately  from  the  men's.  How  the  women  voted 
is,  therefore,  all  a  matter  of  official  record,  and  it  is  only 
necessary  to  study  the  returns  in  order  to  determine  the  facts. 

A  study  of  the  influence  of  the  women's  vote  upon  the 
mayoralty  election  must  necessarily  begin  with  the  choice  of 
candidates  at  the  primary  election,  for  the  choice  of  good  or 
bad  candidates  is,  of  course,  the  fact  of  first  importance.  The 
two  leading  candidates  for  the  Republican  nomination  were 
William  Hale  Thompson,  since  elected  and  inaugurated  mayor, 
and  Chief  Justice  Harry  Olson,  of  the  Chicago  municipal  court 
— the  fusion  candidate  agreed  upon  by  the  Progressives,  led  by 


214  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

Professor  Charles  E.  Merriam,  who  has  been  for  many  years 
the  leader  of  the  good-government  forces  in  Chicago,  and  by  the 
better  element  in  the  Republican  party.  As  to  which  was  the 
better  candidate  there  could  be  no  possible  question.  The  sig- 
nificance, therefore,  of  the  figures  given  in  the  following  tables 
cannot  be  overestimated. 

This  table  shows  that  the  women  gave  a  decisive  plurality 
of  more  than  7,700  votes  to  the  better  candidate,  while  the 
men  gave  a  still  larger  plurality  to  the  less  desirable  candidate. 
Fifty-five  per  cent  of  the  women  voted  for  Judge  Olson,  but 
the  men's  plurality  for  Mr.  Thompson  was  large  enough  to 
outweigh  the  women's  vote.  If  the  men  had  stayed  away  from 
the  polls  on  the  day  of  the  primary  and  left  to  the  women 
the  business  of  choosing  a  candidate  the  fate  of  Chicago  would 
have  been  different. 


Number  and  Per  Cent  of  Vot.es  Cast  by  Men  and  Women  for 
Candidates   in    the   Republican   Primary 


Thompson 

Nur 
Men 
61,506 

nber 
Women 
25,827 
33,570 
1,019 

Per  Cent 
Men     Women 
53.0          42.7 
44.2          55.6 
2.8             1.7 

Olson                 

51,255 

Hey  

3,264 

Total  116,025          60,416        100.0        100.0 

Women's  plurality  for  Olson 7,743 

Men's  plurality  for  Thompson : 10,251 

In  the  contest  between  Mayor  Harrison  and  Mr.  Sweitzer 
for  the  Democratic  nomination,  there  was  no  such  distinct  line 
of  cleavage  between  the  good  and  the  bad  elements.  Both  were 
"machine"  candidates,  although  the  mayor's  machine  was  con-, 
sidered  less  undesirable  than  Mr.  Sweitzer's.  It  is  not  there- 
fore especially  significant  that  both  the  men  and  the  women  of 
the  Democratic  party,  as  the  following  table  shows,  gave  Mr. 
Sweitzer  a  large  plurality;  but  if  it  is  true  that  Mayor  Har- 
rison was  a  less  undesirable  candidate,  then  the  fact  that  a 
larger  per  cent  of  the  women  than  of  the  men  voted  for  Harri- 
son is,  of  course,  significant.  In  so  far  as  there  was  a  choice 
the  preponderance  of  the  women's  vote  went  to  the  right  side. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  215 

Number  and  Per  Cent  of  Votes  Cast  by  Men  and  Women  for 
Candidates  in  the  Democratic  Primary 

Number  Per  Cent 

Men         Women  Men     Women 

Sweitzer   125,587  57,662  64.5  61.2 

Harrison   67,860          36,203  34.9          38.4 

Wilson  1,112  341  .6  .4 

Total  194,559          94,206        100.0        100.0 

Women's  plurality  for  Sweitzer 21,459 

Men's  plurality  for  Sweitzer 57,727 

The  contrast  between  the  situation  on  the  day  of  the  pri- 
mary and  the  day  of  election  was  very  striking.  When  the 
primary  was  held,  there  was  a  chance  to  nominate  a  reform 
candidate  for  mayor,  and  the  women  made  the  choice  in  favor 
of  Judge  Olson  and  good  government.  The  men  chose  differ- 
ently, and  on  election  day  the  choice  was  between  an  undesir- 
able Democrat  and  an  equally  undesirable — or  slightly  less  un- 
desirable— Republican.  Men  and  women  alike  had  to  do  the 
best  they  could  with  the  hopeless  situation  created  by  the  men 
voters.  If  the  men  had  stayed  at  home  on  the  day  of  the 
primaries,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  men  and  the  women  would 
have  had  a  choice  between  Judge  Olson  and  Mr.  Sweitzer. 
Since  there  was  no  "good"  candidate  to  vote  for,  the  best  that 
could  be  done  either  by  the  men  or  the  women  was  to  vote  for 
the  least  undesirable  candidate.  The  following  table  shows  the 
result,  already  sufficiently  familiar,  of  that  election : 

Number  and  Per  Cent  of  Votes  Cast  by  Men  and  Women  for 
Candidates  in  the  Mayorality  Election 

Number  Per  Cent 

Men         Women  Men     Women 

Sweitzer     161,179          89,882  37.5          36.2 

Thompson    249,713         148,825  58.2  59.8 

Stedman    .  16,420  8,032  3.8  3.2 

Hill    2,007  1,967 

Total   429,319         248,706         100.0         100.0 

These  election  returns  have  been  quoted  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  as  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  women  were  merely,  as 
one  writer  has  put  it,  "convenient  copy-cats  of  male  opinion" 


216  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

because  they  helped  the  men  to  elect  Mr.  Thompson  instead  of 
electing  a  more  undesirable  candidate,  Mr.  Sweitzer.  The 
women  are  accused  of  not  voting  independently.  Would  inde- 
pendence have  been  a  virtue  if  it  had  elected  Mr.  Sweitzer?  If 
by  "independence"  is  meant  not  voting  with  the  men,  then  the 
women  voted  independently  in  the  primary  when  independence 
was  a  virtue,  but  on  election  day  they  did  the  best  they  could 
for  Chicago  by  voting  with  the  great  majority  of  the  men  for 
Mr.  Thompson. 

The  question  of  the  effect  of  the  women's  vote  upon  the 
election  of  aldermen  is  a  matter  of  very  great  importance;  but 
as  each  of  the  35  wards  in  Chicago  elects  its  own  alderman,  the 
analysis  of  the  votes  of  these  35  separate  local  communities  is 
a  rather  complicated  undertaking.  It  is  possible,  however,  to 
determine  (i)  whether  in  any  wards  the  women's  vote  actually 
changed  the  election  in  favor  of  a  better  or  a  worse  candidate; 
and  (2)  in  how  many  wards  a  larger  or  smaller  percentage  of 
women  than  of  men  voted  for  the  candidates  recommended  by 
the  non-partisan  Municipal  Voters'  League.1  It  should  be  ex- 
plained that  there  is  almost  universal  agreement  in  Chicago  that 
the  "good"  candidates  are  those  recommended  by  the  league. 
In  a  few  wards  there  may  be  two  candidates  of  almost  equal 
ability  and  integrity,  and  in  such  cases  of  course  there  can  be 
no  clear  line  drawn  between  "good"  and  "bad"  candidates.  Such 
cases,  however,  are  so  rare  that  they  may  be  disregarded,  and 
the  league  recommendations  may  be  taken  as  determining  which 
are  the  best  candidates. 

It  has  not  seemed  worth  while  to  undertake  a  detailed  an- 
alysis of  the  aldermanic  primary  vote  since  the  league  published 
only  a  partial  report  on  the  candidates,  and  in  the  absence  of 
any  accepted  statement  as  to  who  the  best  candidates  were,  it  is, 
of  course,  impossible  to  determine  how  far  the  women's  vote 
was  influential  in  nominating  the  "best"  men. 

It  is  significant,  however,  that  the  day  after  the  primary  the 

1  I  am  indebted  to  a  class  in  statistics  at  the  Chicago  School  of 
Civics  and  Philanthropy,  and  in  particular  to  two  members  of  the 
class,  Miss  M.  Cushing  and  Miss  H.  F.  Ryan,  for  the  tedious  work 
of  computing  these  percentages. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  217 

president  of  the  league  in  a  statement  published  in  the  news- 
papers declared  that  the  result  of  the  aldermanic  primary  had 
been  a  cause  of  congratulation  and  that  "the  women  played  an 
important  part  in  many  of  the  ward  contests  and  the  returns 
would  indicate  that  they  are  entitled  to  credit  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  Buck  in  the  33rd  ward."  The  statement  also  noted 
specifically  that  the  nomination  of  "men  like  McCormick  of 
the  6th  and  Buck  of  the  33rd  are  a  welcome  addition"2  to  the 
aldermanic  lists.  Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  primary,  it 
should  be  noted  that  the  Chicago  Tribune,  under  the  headline 
"Women's  Work  Tells,"  made  the  following  statement  regard- 
ing the  victory  of  Alexander  A.  McCormick  in  the  Sixth  Ward : 
"The  women's  vote  played  a  big  part  in  the  McCormick  victory. 
Scores  of  residence  meetings  have  been  held  in  his  behalf  and 
dozens  of  women  workers  were  present  at  the  polls  all  day 
long  after  having  put  in  two  or  three  weeks  of  consistent  work 
in  house  to  house  canvasses."  (Chicago  Tribune,  Wednesday, 
February  24,  p.  5.) 

The  official  returns  of  the  republican  primary  vote  in  the 
6th  ward  show  that  although  the  men  as  well  as  the  women 
gave  Mr.  McCormick  a  plurality,  61  per  cent  of  the  women  and 
46  per  cent  of  the  men  voted  for  him.  Moreover,  the  women 
were  largely  responsible  for  the  fact  that  Mr.  McCormick  filed 
his  petition  for  nomination.  The  Republican  machine  had  agreed 
on  a  very  respectable,  but  inexperienced  young  lawyer  for  the 
place,  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  ill-feeling  during  the  cam- 
paign, in  which  the  friends  of  Mr.  McCormick  were  repeatedly 
charged  with  "bad  faith,"  since  it  was  said  that  the  "place  had 
been  promised"  to  the  other  candidate.  The  women  voters  took 
a  remarkably  independent  view  of  the  matter.  No  man,  they 
said,  and  no  group  of  men  had  any  right  to  "promise"  the 
aldermanic  nomination  to  any  man.  The  people  of  the  ward 
were  entitled  to  the  services  of  the  best  man  available,  and  the 
fact  that  "months  ago"  some  man  or  some  group  of  men  had 
"promised  the  place"  was  not  entitled  to  have  any  weight.  The 
result  was,  as  the  president  of  the  league  said,  that  the  women 

a  Chicago  Tribune,  Wednesday,  February  27,  p.  2,  statement  by 
Frederick  Bruce  Johnstone,  president,  Municipal  Voters'  League. 


218  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

were  largely  responsible  for  Mr.  McCormick's  nomination.    The 
vote  was  as  follows : 

Republican  Vote  in  the  Primary,  Sixth  Ward 

Men     Women 

Friend    2,808        1,394 

Keck  523  243 

Kerr    105  31 

Singley 28  8 

McCormick 2,962         2,646 

Per  cent  of  women  voting  for  McCormick..  61.2 
Per  cent  of  men  voting  for  McCormick 46.0 

It  may  be  noted,  too,  that  while  the  men's  votes  alone  would 
have  nominated  McCormick  by  a  small  plurality  (154  votes)  yet 
the  women's  work  in  the  ward  was  largely  responsible  for 
winning  this  plurality. 

In  the  33rd  ward,  the  president  of  the  league  was  right  in 
his  statement  that  the  women  were  probably  entitled  to  the 
credit  for  the  nomination  of  Buck.  The  official  returns  of  the 
contest  there  between  Buck  and  Hazen  are  as  follows : 

Republican  Vote  in  the  Primary,  Thirty-third  Ward 

Men     Women    Total 

Hazen    3,468        1,420        4,888 

Buck    3,113         1,846         4,959 

Men's  plurality  for  Hazen 355 

Women's   plurality  for   Buck 426 

Proceeding  to  an  analysis  of  the  results  of  the  aldermanic 
election,  it  appears  from  the  official  returns  that  the  women's 
vote  actually  changed  the  result  in  two  wards.  In  the  i8th  ward, 
one  of  the  densely  populated  West  Side  wards,  concerning  which 
we  had  many  prophecies  of  the  dangers  of  the  so-called  ignorant 
vote,  the  women's  vote  elected  Carl  J.  Murray,  whereas  the 
men's  vote  would  have  elected  the  notorious  "Barney"  Grogan. 
The  following  extract  from  the  report  of  the  Municipal  Voters' 
League  on  this  candidate  indicates  the  value  of  the  work  of 
the  women  voters  in  bringing  about  his  defeat : 

Bernard  J.  ("Barney")  Grogan — Democrat:  .  .  .  has  been 
saloonkeeper  for  thirteen  years;  recent  police  report  stated  his 
saloon  was  a  "hangout  for  safeblowers,  pickpockets,  gunmen, 
prostitutes  and  gamblers";  he  figures  regularly  as  a  bondsman  at 
Desplaines  street  station;  a  friend  of  "Mike  the  Pike";  in  civil 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  219 

service  investigation  of  police  higher-ups  in  1911  (resulting  in  dis- 
charge of  Inspector  Dorman  and  others)  a  divekeeper  testified  that 
he  went  with  Grogan  to  the  back  room  of  the  latter' s  saloon  and 
there  paid  Grogan  $400  for  police  protection.  Grogan  is  a  disgrace 
to  the  city  and  the  18th  ward. 

The  only  other  ward  in  which  the  women's  votes  actually 
changed  the  result  of  the  election  was  the  22nd,  and  here  again, 
although  there  was  no  such  disgraceful  candidate  as  "Barney" 
Grogan  to  be  defeated,  the  women  elected  the  Democratic  can- 
didate recommended  by  the  Municipal  Voters'  League,  instead 
of  the  Republican  candidate,  who  did  not  receive  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  league  but  who  would  have  been  elected  if  the  men 
had  been  voting  alone. 

In  two  wards,  and  two  wards  only,  then,  was  the  election 
actually  changed  by  the  women,  and  in  both  of  these  wards 
the  women's  vote  resulted  in  the  election  of  candidates  whose 
election  had  been  asked  for  by  the  non-partisan  league,  and  in 
one  case,  a  particularly  disgraceful  man  was  kept  out  of  the 
council  solely  because  of  the  women's  vote.  Two  facts  should 
be  taken  into  consideration  with  regard  to  the  number  of  wards 
in  which  the  women's  vote  turned  the  election:  (i)  that  the 
men  voters  are  more  numerous  than  the  women,  and  it  takes 
therefore  a  large  percentage  of  the  women's  votes  to  change  the 
result;  and  (2)  that  the  independence  of  the  women's  vote  in 
the  aldermanic  election  of  1914  had  demonstrated  to  politicians 
of  all  parties  the  importance  of  nominating  better  candidates, 
and  as  a  result  there  were  fewer  "gray  wolves"  to  be  defeated 
this  year. 

Another,  and  perhaps  more  important,  test  of  the  independ- 
ence and  intelligence  of  the  women's  vote  is  whether  or  not  a 
larger  percentage  of  the  women  than  of  the  men  voted  for  the 
candidates  recommended  by  the  Municipal  Voters'  League. 

The  following  summary  shows  (i)  the  number  of  wards  in 
which  the  league  candidates  received  a  larger  percentage  of  the 
women's  vote  than  of  the  men's  vote,  (2)  the  number  of  wards 
in  which  the  league  candidates  received  a  larger  percentage  of 
the  men's  vote,  and  (3)  the  wards  in  which  the  percentages 
were  the  same  or  divided. 

i.  In  24  out  of  the  35  wards,  the  percentage  of  women 
voting  for  the  league  candidates  was  higher  than  the  percentage 


220  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

of  men  voting  for  these  candidates.  These  were  the  1st,  2d,  3d 
(two  candidates  elected),  4th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  gth,  loth,  I2th,  I4th, 
i6th,  i8th,  2ist,  22d,  23rd,  24th,  26th,  28th,  2pth,  3ist,  32d,  33d, 
and  35th. 

2.  In   eight   wards   the   percentage   of   men  voting   for  the 
league  candidates  was  higher  than  the  per  cent  of  women  voting 
for  these  candidates.     These  were  the  5th,  nth,  I3th,  I7th,  ipth, 
20th,  27th  and  34th. 

3.  In  two  wards  the  percentages  of  men  and  women  voting 
for  the  league  candidates  were  the  same.     These  were  the  25th 
(two  candidates  elected)  and  the  3Oth. 

In  one  ward  (the  I5th)  where  two  candidates  were  to  be 
elected,  the  percentage  of  women  voting  for  the  Municipal 
Voters'  League  candidate  for  the  longer  term  was  larger  than 
the  per  cent  of  men,  but  the  per  cent  of  men  voting  for  the 
short  term  league  candidate  was  higher  than  the  per  cent  of 
women.  In  this  latter  case  the  recommended  candidate  elected 
by  the  men  was  a  Socialist,  and  the  women  seem  in  general  to 
have  been  more  reluctant  than  the  men  to  vote  for  Socialist 
candidates. 

In  addition  to  the  election  of  a  mayor  and  thirty-eight  alder- 
men, twelve  "public  policy"  questions  came  before  the  voters  of 
Chicago.  Seven  of  these  involved  bond  issues  and  received  a 
plurality  of  the  men's  and  of  the  women's  votes.  On  the  -first 
three  questions,  which  involved  the  issue  of  bonds  for  (i)  a 
contagious  diseases  hospital,  (2)  a  dormitory  for  the  John 
Worthy  school  for  delinquent  boys,  and  (3)  a  house  of  shelter 
for  women,  the  per  cent  of  women  voting  "yes"  was  slightly 
larger  than  the  per  cent  of  men — in  no  case,  however,  was  there 
a  difference  as  great  as  5  per  cent.  The  per  cent  of  women  and 
men  voting  for  the  fourth  proposition — bonds  for  garbage  reduc- 
tion works — was  the  same.  On  the  last  three  propositions,  (5) 
bathing-beaches,  (6)  fire  and  (7)  police  department  bonds,  the 
per  cent  of  men  voting  "yes"  was  slightly  higher  than  the  per 
cent  of  women  (the  excess  in  the  case  of  bathing-beaches  was 
only  i  per  cent).  Of  the  other  public  policy  questions,  four 
related  to  the  annexation  of  outlying  villages,  and  in  all  these 
cases  a  slightly  larger  percentage  of  men  than  of  women  voted 
"yes" ;  the  other  question  submitted,  that  of  the  "double  platoon" 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  221 

system  in  the  fire  department,  was  defeated  both  by  the  men  and 
by  the  women,  but  with  a  larger  per  cent  of  the  women  than 
of  the  men  voting  "no."  On  the  whole,  there  was  general  satis- 
faction with  the  outcome  of  the  public  policy  vote,  and  the 
women  were  in  line  with  approved,  and  as  it  appears,  general 
public  sentiment  in  voting  for  the  measures,  the  only  fact  of 
significance  being  that  a  slightly  higher  percentage  of  women 
voted  "yes"  on  city  bonds  for  humanitarian  purposes. 

In  conclusion,  then,  it  seems  fair  to  say  that  the  recent 
municipal  election  has  shown  that  the  women's  vote  has  been  a 
source  of  strength  to  the  good  government  forces.  At  the  risk 
of  repetition,  however,  it  may  once  more  be  emphasized  that  the 
most  signal  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  women  voters  are  a 
force  for  good  government  was  afforded  by  the  Republican  pri- 
mary vote  in  which  a  majority  of  the  women,  and  unfortunately 
for  Chicago,  a  minority  of  the  men,  voted  for  Chief  Justice 
Olson,  the  candidate  of  the  "reform"  forces.  On  the  day  of 
the  election  it  was  too  late  either  for  the  women  or  the  men 
to  save  a  situation  in  which  the  two  great  parties  offered  two 
undesirable  candidates  to  the  voters.  The  women  as  well  as  the 
men  took  the  wise  course  of  voting  for  the  least  undesirable  of 
these  candidates,  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  women's 
vote  alone  would  have  meant  a  choice  between  Chief  Justice 
Olson  and  Mr.  Sweitzer  for  mayor.  It  was  the  men's  vote  that 
created  a  situation  in  which  the  voters  had  to  choose  between 
Mr.  Sweitzer  and  Mr.  Thompson. 

So  far  as  the  aldermanic  election  is  concerned,  the  returns 
show  that  two  aldermanic  candidates,  one  of  them  of  the  worse 
"gray  wolf"  type,  were  defeated  by  the  women's  vote  and  that 
in  twenty-five  different  wards,  in  all  sections  of  the  city  and 
among  all  classes  of  people,  rich  and  poor,  immigrant  and 
American,  from  the  university  wards  on  the  south  side  to  some 
of  the  most  congested  wards  on  the  west  side,  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  women  than  of  the  men  voted  without  regard  to 
party  affiliations  for  the  candidates  recommended  by  the  Muni- 
cipal Voters'  League.  The  officers  of  the  league  said,  in  publish- 
ing their  final  report  on  candidates,  "To  the  women  voters  of 
Chicago  a  special  appeal  is  made.  They  should  not  forget  that 
last  year,  but  for  their  vote,  six  good  aldermen  would  have  been 


222  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

defeated."  The  election  returns  show  that  this  appeal  was  not 
in  vain.  To  the  "six  good  aldermen"  whom  the  women  saved 
from  defeat  last  year  four  others  have  been  added,  two  at  the 
primary  and  two  at  the  election  this  year.  These  ten  aldermen 
are  the  women's  direct  contribution  to  the  City  Council  of 
Chicago. 

Nineteenth  Century.  75:415-33.  February,  1914. 

Woman    Suffrage    at    Work   in    America.      Robert   Palmer    and 
A.  MacCallum  Scott. 

(The  two  following-  articles  are  the  outcome  of  an  inquiry  insti- 
tuted last  summer  by  twelve  ladies,  with  the  object  of  obtaining 
an  impartial  account  of  the  working4  of  woman  suffrage  in  those 
states  of  the  American  Union  in  which  it  has  been  adopted.  These 
ladies  obtained  letters  of  introduction  to  a  representative  selection 
of  prominent  citizens  of  the  states  concerned — clergy  and  ministers 
of  different  denominations,  lawyers,  educationalists,  publicists, 
business  men,  former  holders  of  public  office,  and  the  like,  and  a 
few  eminent  women;  .to.  all  of  whom  a  list  of  questions  was  for- 
warded, accompanied  by  the  following  appeal: 

"Several  Englishwomen  who  are  much  interested  in  the  ques- 
tion of  the  enfranchisement  of  women  are  desirous  of  knowing  how 
it  works  in  the  states  of  America  where  it  has  been  put  into 
operation. 

"They  hold  very  different  views  on  this  subject,  some  being  in 
favour  of  the  change  and  some  against  it,  but  they  all  wish  to 
know  the  result^imthose  countries  where  it  has  been  tried. 

"They  therefore  beg  that  you  will  answer  the  questions  on  the 
enclosed  paper,  or  as -many' of  them  as  you  can,  and  return  it  in 
the  addressed  envelope  which  is  inclosed." 

Names  of  the  women  who  joined  in  this  appeal: 

Adeline,  Duchess  of  Bedford. 

The  Marchioness  of  Salisbury. 

The  Dowager  Countess  of  Leconfleld. 

The  Countess  of  Selborne. 

The  Countess  Waldegrave. 

The  Lady  Willoughby  de  Broke. 

The  Lady  Balfour  of  Burleigh. 

Miss  Balfour. 

Mrs.  Creighton. 

Miss  Haldane. 

Miss  Violet  Markham. 

Miss  Talbot. 

To  this  appeal  sixty-three  replies  were  received,  and  the  accom- 
panying articles  represent  an  attempt  to  summarize  these  replies 
and  the  conclusions  which  may  be  drawn  from  them,  from  the 
suffragist  and  anti-suffragist  points  of  view  respectively.) 

(I) 

Before  dealing  with  the  sixty-three  accounts  of  equal  suffrage 
in  the  working  which  lie  before  us,  it  is  only  fair  that  the  nature 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  223 

of  the  inquiry  which  elicited  them  should  be  emphasised.  It  did 
not  pretend  to  be  exhaustive,  but  it  was  eminently  representative. 
It  had  no  case  to  prove,  and  had  neither  the  motive  nor  the 
means,  to  pack  the  jury  in  favour  of  the  one  side  or  the  other. 
The  letters  of  introduction  first  obtained  were  directed  to  a  few 
leading  men  in  New  York,  whose  views  on  suffrage  were 
unknown  to  the  inquirers,  and  these  gentlemen  forwarded  the 
questionnaire  to  a  number  of  prominent  people  in  each  of  the 
nine  "suffrage  states,"  being  only  requested  to  avoid  approach- 
ing anyone  who  was  known  to  hold  strong  views  on  the 
question. 

This  method  of  procedure  gives  the  replies  that  representa- 
tive reasonableness  which  is  associated  with  the  verdict  of  a 
number  of  persons  selected  without  reference  to  the  issues 
which  are  laid  before  them.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that 
these  replies  are  all  based  upon  direct  experience.  They  are 
the  statements  of  those  who  are  actually  living  under  equal 
suffrage. 

It  is  therefore  a  very  striking  result,  when  we  turn  to  the 
replies  themselves,  to  find  that  their  outstanding  feature  is  the 
immense  preponderance  of  those  favourable  to  woman  suffrage. 
A  rough  classification  shows  no  fewer  than  forty-six  thus 
favourable,  as  against  eight  neutral,  five  vaguely  unfavourable, 
and  only  four  definitely  hostile.  Such  a  consensus  is  really 
overwhelming.  It  shows  that  equal  suffrage  is  passing  from 
the  realm  of  controversy  to  that  of  universal  approval  among 
those  who  have  seen  it  at  work. 

Many  of  the  replies  are  enthusiastic,  but  in  a  way  the  more 
coldly  favourable  are  the  most  interesting,  because  they  are  so 
patently  genuine  and  unprejudiced.  Several  mention  a  point 
or  two  which  tell  against  equal  suffrage,  well  worth  consid- 
ering as  far  as  they  go,  but  to  quote  them  apart  from  their 
context  would  give  a  false  impression.  The  striking  fact  is 
that  each  of  the  forty-six  sums  up,  most  of  them  strongly, 
in  favour  of  it,  and  on  the  most  sensible  and  practical  of 
grounds.  The  details  will  repay  examination  later  on.  Suffice 
it  here  to  note  that  the  aspect  to  which  the  most  unanimous 


224  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

testimony  is  borne  is  the  moral  influence  of  women.  It  is 
above  all  with  moral  issues  that  they  are  concerned,  and  it 
is  not  disputed  by  more  than  one  or  two  answers  that  their 
influence  has  been  wholly  good. 

The  eight  neutral  answers  are  perhaps  the  least  instructive, 
as  they  come  from  those  who  either  think  it  is  too  soon,  to 
judge,  or  from  those  who  have  not  observed  any  results  from 
the  change  which  justify  a  definite  opinion.  Not  one  of  them 
mentions  a  single  evil  result,  or  fear  of  any,  from  the  grant 
of  equal  suffrage. 

The  answers  classed  as  vaguely  unfavourable  read  like  those 
of  men  who  were  opposed  to  woman  suffrage  and  still  bear 
it  a  lingering  grudge,  but  can  find  no  definite  charge  to  lay 
against  it.  Most  of  them  describe  themselves  as  neutral.  The 
worst  they  can  find  to  say  are  the  following:  "Personally  I 
do  not  believe  in  women  voting,  but  I  believe  we  cannot  help 
it."  "Much  freak  legislation,  possible  due  to  women's  influence," 
"Nothing  accomplished  which  could  not  have  been  done  as  well 
or  better  without  suffrage."  These  are  absolutely  the  three 
most  unfavourable  phrases  in  these  answers,  which  can  none 
of  them  allege  any  definite  harm  to  have  resulted  from  women's 
votes,  while  four  of  the  five  admit  some  definite  good. 

There  remain  the  four  definitely  anti-suffragist  replies,  which 
will  be  noticed  in  discussing  the  states  from  which  they  come. 
For  what  they  are  worth,  they  may  be  set  against  the  forty-six. 
But  beyond  them  any  unfavourable  testimony  from  these 
answers  will  have  to  be  scraped  together  from  isolated  sentences 
out  of  favourable  replies. 

Again,  if  the  answers  be  examined  state  by  state,  the  result 
is  equally  encouraging  to  suffragists.  Indeed  it  is  especially 
worth  while  to  go  through  them  in  this  arrangement,  because 
anti-suffragists  are  prone  to  call  attention  to  some  isolated  abuse 
or  evil  institution  existing  in  some  single  suffrage  state  (such 
as  Mormonism  in  Utah,  or  misgovernment  in  Colorado),  and 
brand  it  as  the  fruit  of  equal  suffrage,  without  attempting  to 
set  it  in  its  true  historical  perspective. 

Three  of  the  states  included  in  this  inquiry  have  adopted 
equal  suffrage  for  their  legislatures  too  recently  to  make  their 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  225 

evidence  of  great  weight.  These  are  Arizona,  Kansas,  and 
Oregon,  which  all  took  the  step  in  November,  1912.  Kansas  (the 
most  important  of  them)  has  however  had  municipal  woman 
suffrage  since  1887.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  many  of  the 
replies  draw  the  inference,  so  repugnant  to  the  subtler  minds  of 
the  anti-suffragists  in  England,  that  the  women  who  have  used 
the  local  franchise  with  conspicuous  sense  and  success  are  likely 
to  make  an  equally  good  use  of  the  parliamentary  franchise. 

Of  far  greater  importance  are  the  replies  from  Washington 
and  California.  Although  these  states  only  obtained  the  full 
equal  suffrage  in  1910  and  1911  respectively,  yet  in  each  of  them 
elections  and  two  or  three  sessions  have  been  held  since  it  came 
into  operation.  It  is  true  that  it  is  still  too  early  to  judge  of 
the  full  effect  of  the  change,  but  the  impression  created  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  all  the  replies  from  Washington  are  favourable, 
and  some  of  them  strikingly  so.  One  gentleman,  for  .instance, 
writes,  "I  do  not  think  we  could  have  cleaned  up  the  city  in 
1911  but  for  the  women.  At  that  time  ...  I  was  opposed  to 
woman  suffrage,  but  since  that  time  I  have  become  favourable." 
Another  says,  "The  whole  attitude  of  lawmakers  with  regard  to 
'women's'  legislation  has  changed  since  the  adoption  of  woman 
suffrage.  .  .  .  Our  present  good  conditions  are  due  to  the 
women."  These,  of  course,  are  opinions,  but  a  consensus  of 
opinion  has  probably  some  foundation  in  fact. 

From  California  the  evidence  is  even  more  definite  and 
emphatic,  and  it  is  worth  examining,  because  California  is  by 
far  the  most  important  state  which  is  included  in  this  inquiry. 
On  the  general  question  of  their  impression  of  its  effects, 
fifteen  replies  are  favourable,  two  neutral  (on  the  ground  that 
it  is  too  soon  to  tell),  one  vaguely  unfavourable,  and  one  hos- 
tile. The  latter,  however,  is  only  hostile  on  the  two  following 
points:  (i)  Q.  "Has  the  change  caused  any  ill-feeling?"  A. 
"I  fear  it  has" ;  and  (2)  "It  will  weaken  the  home  ties."  Inci- 
dentally, the  writer  mentions  that  he  was  an  anti-suffragist 
before  1911. 

Against  this  solitary  foreboding  must  be  set  some  very 
definite  and  forcible  statements  of  the  positive  effects  of  the 
change.  It  must  be  mentioned  that  since  the  grant  of  equal 


226  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

suffrage  a  long  list  of  laws1  on  the  subjects  which  deeply 
concern  women  have  been  passed  by  the  Californian  legislature. 
When  these  lists  are  quoted,  it  is  the  practice  of  anti-suffragists 
to  rake  up  a  list  of  similar  laws  from  non-suffrage  countries 
to  prove  that  there  is  no  connexion  between  the  adoption  of 
woman  suffrage  and  these  reforms.  It  is  one  of  those  queer 
coincidences,  like  indigestion  on  Boxing  Day,  which  recur  so 
causelessly.  Such,  however,  is  clearly  not  the  view  of  the 
citizens  of  California  who  have  seen  the  "coincidence"  at  work. 
Here  are  a  few  of  their  replies: 

"The  attitude  of  the  Civil  Government  towards  women  appeal- 
ing in  the  interest  of  the  causes  near  to  their  hearts  has  very 
materially  changed  since  the  women  have  had  the  right  to  vote." 

"The  forces  making  for  civic  decency  and  cleanliness  and  good 
government  in  San  Francisco  have  been  enormously  strengthened." 

"It  has  tended  to  make  politics  cleaner.  It  has  placed  some 
most  excellent  laws  on  our  statute-books  regarding  child  labor, 
minimum  wage  boards,  shorter  hours,  anti-vice  laws,  etc." 

"The  objectors  are  silenced  in  our  actual  experience  under  the 
law." 

"They  (the  women)  have  been  a  very  definite  constructive 
force  in  our  legislation:  have  shown  more  definiteness  and  effi- 
ciency, and  a  more  unmixed  public  spirit,  than  men." 

This  from  a  man : 

"From  being  prejudiced  against  it  I  have  become  a  mild  convert 
through  its  good  effects." 

"These  (six  named  laws)  were  all  passed  through  direct  influ- 
ence of  the  votes  behind  the  women." 

"...  Women  are  now  able  to  enforce  their  point  of  view.  .  .  . 
For  instance,  women  have  been  trying  for  years  to  have  an  equal 
guardianship  law  passed  in  California.  ...  It  was  passed  without 
question  in  the  first  Legislature  after  the  women  were  enfran- 
chised, though  backed  by  exactly  the  same  women  who  had  been 
pushing  for  the  measure  all  along." 

A  great  deal  more  to  the  same  effect  could  be  quoted  if  space 
permitted.  In  particular,  several  of  the  replies  mention  the 
work  of  a  women's  organisation  in  "recalling"  (i.  e.  turning 
out  by  their  votes)  a  notoriously  corrupt  judge  who  favoured 
the  "vice  interest." 

So  much  for  the  "new"  suffrage  states.  The  "old"  are 
equally  encouraging,  though  from  their  long  familiarity  with 
equal  suffrage  they  take  less  note  of  its  effects.  To  them  it  is 
an  institution  rather  than  a  reform. 

1  E.  g.,  Employment  of  Women;  Employment  of  Children;  Age 
of  Consent  (i.  e.,  raising  to  eighteen  the  age  at  which  a  girl's  con- 
sent to  her  seduction  becomes  a  valid  defence  to  her  seducer) ; 
Sale  of  Intoxicants;  Kindergartens;  Orphans;  Widows'  Pensions; 
Equal  Guardianship;  Bastardy;  Juvenile  Court;  Red  Light  Abate- 
ment; Nurses;  Milk  Inspection,  etc. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  227 

Idaho  enfranchised  its  women  in  1896,  early  in  its  history 
as  a  state.  Perhaps  for  that  reason,  or  perhaps  because  in 
Idaho  social  problems  are  still  in  their  infancy,  there  is  a 
tendency  to  regard  the  results  as  less  marked  than  elsewhere. 
None  of  the  replies,  however,  are  unfavourable,  and  all  assert 
that  equal  suffrage  has  both  raised  the  character  of  candidates 
and  increased  the  interest  taken  by  women  in  politics. 

Utah  has  enjoyed  equal  suffrage  ever  since  it  entered  the 
Union  in  1896.  Here  again  it  is  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  its  effects  have  been  the  less  noticeable  because  they  have 
been  present  from  the  beginning.  The  general  tone  is  com- 
placently favourable.  The  points  chiefly  noted  are  that  women 
have  been  useful  "on  moral  issues,"  and  that  their  votes  have 
had  a  salutary  effect  on  the  character  of  candidates.  Their 
influence  is  traced  in  many  laws ;  and  two,  that  providing  widows' 
pensions  and  that  raising  the  age  of  consent,  are  attributed  to 
their  direct  agitation. 

It  is  a  characteristic  argument  of  anti-suffragist  literature  to 
condemn  the  suffrage  because  in  Utah  it  "supports  Mormon- 
ism."  This  is  only  true  in  the  sense  that  the  women  voters 
have  not  overruled  the  other  citizens  in  their  support  of  that 
creed.  For  Mormonism  was  the  whole  raison  d'etre  of  Utah. 
The  Mormons  deliberately  withdrew  to  the  wilds  in  order  to 
practise  their  religion.  There  was  no  point  in  anyone  going  to 
Utah  at  all  unless  they  were  Mormons.  So  naturally  the  citizens 
of  Utah  support  Mormonism,  deeply  mistaken  as  we  think  them ; 
and  in  this  respect  the  women  are  on  the  same  level  as  the  men. 
After  all,  where  a  whole  community  shares  an  error,  it  cannot 
be  expected  that  the  women,  on  acquiring  votes,  will  forthwith 
reconsider  their  religion.  And  on  the  matters  which  enfran- 
chisement does  affect,  it  is  clear  that  the  influence  of  their  votes 
has  been  beneficial. 

The  state  of  Wyoming  was  the  pioneer  in  the  movement 
towards  equal  suffrage.  It  adopted  it  in  1869,  twenty-one  years 
before  it  entered  the  Union.  Consequently  there  is  little  posi- 
tive evidence  of  the  effects  of  its  adoption,  because  its  permeates 
the  whole  atmosphere.  All  the  state's  laws  have  been  passed 
under  equal  suffrage.  Most  people  cannot  remember  the  time 


228  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

when  women  did  not  vote.  Yet,  oddly  enough,  one  of  the  four 
definitely  unfavourable  answers  comes  from  Wyoming,  though 
it  is  written  by  an  Easterner  who  has  only  been  there  a  few 
years.  His  objection  is  summed  up  thus: 

1  should   say  .  .  .  that  women's   suffrage   has   not   affected   the 
situation  in  legislation  at  all.     It  has  added  an  increased  responsi- 
bility, which  responsibility  has,  I  think,  been  well  borne,  and  it  has 
sharpened  animosities  and  lengthened  them.     Plainly  speaking,  the 
granting  of  the  suffrage  is  an  increase  of  the  ignorant  vote.     That 
it  has  not  been  so  in   Wyoming  is  due  to  the  fact  that  .  .  .  there  is 
a  very  high  intellectual  average  among  our  women."     The  experi- 
ence of  Wyoming  is  no  guarantee  of  the  effect  of  suffrage  where 
conditions  are  different. 

And  this  is  what  on  a  rough  classification  was  set  down  as 
one  of  the  four  hostile  replies !  On  second  perusal,  its  place 
seems  to  be  rather  (unconsciously)  among  the  most  favourable. 
For  here  an  obviously  "unfriendly  witness"  coming  from  the 
Eastern  states  (where  he  had  not  seen  equal  suffrage  at  work), 
full  of  prejudice  against  it,  tries  to  answer  that  it  has  been  a 
failure,  and  is  inadvertently  betrayed  into  admitting  that  it  is  a 
success,  but  hastens  to  add  that  it  might  very  likely  be  a  failure 
somewhere  else.  The  rest  of  the  replies  are  uniformly  favour- 
able. 

The  last  and  most  important  of  the  "old"  suffrage  states  is 
Colorado,  which  enfranchised  its  women  in  1893.  It  is  also  the 
state  which  anti-suffragists  generally  select  for  their  battleground, 
because  undoubtedly  its  government  has  been  marred  by  very 
grave  abuses  which  are  not  yet  by  any  means  done  away  with. 
This  fact  is  made  a  ground  of  dissatisfaction  against  woman  suf- 
frage both  in  England  and  in  the  state  itself.  For  Colorado  is 
the  only  state  from  which  two  definitely  unfavourable  replies 
have  been  received.  It  is  not  unreasonable  that  such  dissatis- 
faction should  prevail,  but  the  fact  that  it  does  so  shows  the 
high  expectations  which  are  naturally  entertained  of  women's 
influence  as  voters.  If  they  are  no  better  than  the  men  they 
are  condemned. 

But  an  examination  of  the  facts  in  Colorado  shows  that  they 
have  improved  upon  the  men.  The  state  was  in  a  hopelessly 

2  The   writer   attributes   this    high    standard   to    the    number  of 
ranchers   who   have   married   'school-ma'ams';   but   is   it   unfair   to 
claim   part   of   the   credit   for   the   long-established  woman's   vote? 
The  'old'  suffrage  states  seem  altogether  to  have  a  high  educational 
standard.     See  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner  for  Education. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  229 

corrupt  condition  before  1893.  It  was  largely  a  silver-mining 
community,  and  probably  attracted  a  good  many  of  the  undesir- 
ables of  either  sex.  As  one  reply  puts  it,  the  very  movement 
for  equal  suffrage  acquired  its  chief  strength  from  "a  general 
conviction  that  male  suffrage  was  so  debased  as  to  moral  issues 
that  it  could  not  be  trusted."  So  that  to  expect  complete  reform 
as  the  result  of  their  enfranchisement  was  to  expect  the  women 
of  Colorado  to  be  on  a  wholly  different  moral  plane  from  their 
men-folk,  which  is  unreasonable.  Those  who  wish  to  see  what 
Colorado  politics  are,  or  were  like,  should  read  Judge  Lindsey's 
thrilling  book,  "The  Beast."  Yet  even  under  these  daunting  cir- 
cumstances the  influence  of  the  women  has  been  to  the  good  so 
far  as  it  has  gone.  There  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  they 
have  been  instrumental  in  securing  laws  very  similar  to  those  in 
California,  and  have  had  a  good  effect  on  the  character  of  can- 
didates. Moreover,  they  can  claim  a  large  share  of  the  credit 
for  the  Colorado  children's  laws,  which  have  been  described 
by  the  Inter-Parliamentary  Union  as  "the  sanest,  the  most  hu- 
mane, the  most  progressive,  most  scientific  laws  relating  to  the 
child  to  be  found  on  any  statute-books  in  the  world."  In  par- 
ticular, it  was  only  by  the  women's  votes  that  Judge  Lindsey3 
was  kept  in  office  for  thirteen  years  in  the  teeth  of  the  opposition 
of  both  the  political  "machines,"  as  the  judge  himself  acknowl- 
edges in  his  book. 

Therefore  even  in  Colorado  a  candid  inquiry  decisively 
vindicates  the  usefulness  of  woman  suffrage.  The  point  is, 
after  all,  not  whether  it  has  made  the  place  clean  but  whether 
it  has  made  it  cleaner,  and  there  is  clear  evidence  that  it  has 
done  so. 

Thus  an  examination  of  the  evidence  as  a  whole  from  each 
state  in  turn  shows  that  in  no  state  is  woman  suffrage  believed 
to  have  done  any  kind  of  harm,  and  in  every  one  some  good 
results  are  attributed  to  it,  while  from  at  least  three  of  the 
most  important  the  testimony  to  its  benefits  is  emphatic  and 
detailed. 

3  Judge  Lindsey  was  responsible  for  the  introduction  of  the 
Juvenile  Court  system  in  Colorado,  whence  it  has  spread  through- 
out the  civilised  world.  He  is  also  a  well-known  reformer  and 
enemy  of  "Boss"  rule. 


230  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

As  a  final  method  of  survey  it  will  be  useful  to  run  through 
the  replies  under  the  seven  headings  into  which  the  question- 
naire is  divided.  Lack  of  space  forbids  more  than  a  rough 
analysis : 

Q.  1.     Reasons  for  adoption. 

(a)  Was  it  a  party  question?— A.  Nowhere,  except  partially  in 
California  and  Colorado. 

(b)  Was  there  militancy? — A.  None  anywhere. 

(c)  Where  did  the  strength  of  the  movement  and  opposition  to 
it    lie? — A.    Strength    mainly    came    from    "moral"    influences    and 
women's  clubs;  opposition  from  saloons  and  machine  politicians. 

Q.  2.     Conditions. 

A.  The  qualifications  are  the  same  for  men  as  for  women; 
about  15  per  cent  fewer  women  are  on  the  register,  on  an  average; 
women  are  everywhere  eligible  to  the  legislature. 

Q.  3.     How  is  the  vote  exercised? 

(a)  What   percentage   polls? — A.  About   5   per   cent   fewer   than 
men,   on  an  average. 

(b)  Have  women  formed  new  parties? — A.  Nowhere. 

(c)  Is  the  balance  of  existing  parties  altered? — A.  No. 

(d)  Do  wives  votes   with   their   husbands? — A.  About   half   say 
"yes"  and  half  "no" — clearly  individuals  vary. 

(e)  Has  the   female  vote   affected  the  character  of  candidates 
for   office? — A.  Thirty-eight   replies    say    "yes,"    often   quoting   in- 
stances.    Thirteen  say  "no." 

Q.  4.     How  has  equal  suffrage  affected  women's  position? 

(a)  Has    it    caused    ill-feeling    between    men    and    women? — 
A.  Over  50  say  "no";  3  say  "yes." 

(b)  Has  it  increased  women's  interest  in  politics? — A.   Over  50 
say  "yes";  about  6  doubt  it. 

(c)  Has  it  impaired  their  usefulness  in  the  home?— A.  Nearly 
50  replies  say  "no";  8  say  that  in  some  cases  it  has.     One  pictur- 
esque answer  perhaps  hits  the  nail  on  the  head  in  saying  "your 
flannel-mouthed   suffragist  is  not  a  home-making  woman  at  all." 
But  after  all  it  is  the  agitation  for  suffrage  which  breeds  the  flannel- 
mouthed  type;  the  grant  quiets  them. 

Q.  5.     Is  there  any  agitation  for  its  repeal? 

A.     None. 

Q.  6.     What  is  your  general  impression  of  the  change? 

A.     This  has  already  been  dealt  with. 

Q.  7.  What  legislation  dealing  with  the  following  subjects  has 
been  passed  since  the  women  had  the  vote?  Can  the  influence  of 
the  female  vote  be  traced  in  any  such  legislation? 

(a)  Conditions  of  female  labour. 

(b)  Protection  of  women  and  girls. 

(c)  Temperance. 
(.d)  Education. 

(e)  Sanitation  and  milk. 

(f)  Industrial  arbitration, 
(fir)  Widows'  pensions. 
(h)  Divorce. 

The  answers  under  these  headings  are  naturally  rather 
fragmentary  and  unscientific ;  they  need  correcting  and  supple- 
menting from  official  records.  But,  taking  them  for  what  they 
are  worth,  it  is  interesting  to  find  that  they  record  legislation 
on  subjects  a,  b  and  g  in  every  suffrage  state  since  the  grant 
of  equal  suffrage  (except  Kansas,  which  had  no  legislature 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  231 

since  the  grant).  And  if  Oregon  and  Arizona  also  be  omitted, 
useful  laws  have  been  passed  in  every  state  on  subjects  a,  b,  c, 
d,  e,  f  and  g. 

It  would  of  course  be  unreasonable  to  lay  stress  on  this  as 
far  as  the  "old"  suffrage  states  are  concerned,  though  the 
great  majority  of  replies  from  those  states  do  assert  that  the 
female  vote  has  influenced  their  legislation  on  these  topics.  But 
in  this  connexion  the  evidence  from  the  "new"  suffrage  states 
has  a  special  value.  The  questionnaire  selects  the  eight  sub- 
jects on  which  it  is  thought  women  are  most  likely  to  use  their 
votes.  The  replies  from  Washington  and  California,  where 
three  and  two  sessions  respectively  have  been  held  since  the 
grant  of  woman  suffrage,  show  that  the  legislatures  of  both 
have  already  passed  laws  on  seven  out  of  those  eight  subjects 
in  those  sessions.  On  the  "coincidence"  theory  the  odds  would 
be  almost  infinitely  against  such  a  thing  happening;  and  when 
we  find  twenty-one  answers  from  these  two  states  affirming 
in  unequivocal  terms  that  these  laws  have  been  carried  by 
means  of  the  women's  votes,  no  impartial  mind  can  resist  the 
conclusion  that  such  is  the  truth.  And  in  the  still  more 
extreme  case  of  Oregon,  where  equal  suffrage  had  been  in 
force  nine  months,  the  only  reply  which  deals  with  this  part 
of  the  questionnaire  enumerates  laws  of  1913  on  subjects  a,  b, 
e  and  g,  and  adds  "These  were  all  due  to  the  influence  of 
women."  Or  another  "coincidence,"  perhaps.  In  nine  months! 

It  may  be  further  mentioned  in  this  connexion  that  on  the 
only  two  of  these  eight  topics  on  which  reliable  information 
covering  all  the  states  of  the  Union  is  to  hand  at  the  moment — 
namely  widows'  pensions  and  the  protection  of  girls  by  raising 
the  age  of  consent  to  eighteen — the  proportion  of  suffrage 
states  which  have  legislated  on  these  points  is  strikingly  higher 
than  that  of  non-suffrage  states.  Thus  seventeen  states  alto- 
gether have  widows'  pension  laws.  Of  these,  six  are  suffrage 
states  and  enacted  the  laws  since  becoming  so,  and  eleven  are 
non-suffrage.  But  the  six  are  six  out  of  nine  (two  of  the 
remaining  three  having  had  equal  suffrage  less  than  a  year), 
and  the  eleven  are  eleven  out  of  thirty-nine.  Similarly,  of  the 
nine  suffrage  states  seven  have  raised  the  age  of  consent  to 
eighteen  since  granting  equal  suffrage  (an  eighth  having  done 


232  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

so  just  before  the  grant),  while  of  the  non-suffrage  states  the 
figures  for  1911-12  (the  latest  available)  show  that  then  only 
four  out  of  thirty-nine  had  so  raised  it. 

On  the  matter  of  temperance,  it  must  suffice  to  say  that 
while  all  replies  agree  that  women  oppose  the  liquor  interests, 
many  deplore  their  moderation.  Indeed  on  the  whole  the 
replies  go  to  show  that  women  have  not  used  their  vote  in  any 
sensational  manner,  but  that  they  have  used  it  promptly  and 
firmly  on  those  practical  issues  of  home,  health,  morals  and 
the  welfare  of  their  sex,  which  are  obviously  those  on  which 
they  have  a  peculiar  right  to  make  their  views  effective.  And 
in  so  doing,  if  we  are  to  accept  the  evidence  here  collected, 
they  have  not,  with  rare  exceptions,  impaired  their  usefulness 
in  the  home,  nor  caused  ill-feeling  between  the  sexes,  nor 
introduced  disturbing  factors  into  politics.  On  the  contrary, 
they  have  broadened  their  own  interests  and  increased  their 
usefulness  thereby,  and  have  used  their  influence  not  only  for 
sound  laws  but  for  cleaner  politics  and  a  better  type  of  can- 
didate. 

That  is  the  evidence  which  these  sixty-three  American  citi- 
zens, who  have  lived  under  equal  suffrage,  have  given.  The 
only  question  that  remains  is  What  is  this  evidence  worth? 
No  candid  reader  of  it  can  seriously  doubt  its  effect.  There 
can  be  no  serious  doubt  that  the  citizens  of  these  states  are 
overwhelmingly  in  favour  of  woman  suffrage  on  the  strength 
of  their  experience  of  it.  But  what  value  has  that  experience 
for  England? 

There  are  only  three  possible  lines  of  answer.  One  is  to 
admit  the  practical  benefits  of  woman  suffrage,  but  to  cling 
to  the  theoretical  objections  to  it  The  second  is  to  admit  the 
evidence,  but  deny  its  applicability  to  England.  The  third  is 
to  accept  it  frankly  as  conclusive.  If  an  anti-suffragist  bases 
his  views  solely  on  a  priori  postulates  of  Difference  of  Function 
or  Physical  Force,  naturally  no  appeal  to  experience  or  common 
sense  will  have  any  effect  upon  him.  But  the  vast  majority 
of  Englishmen  do  not  argue  their  politics  a  priori.  And  of 
all  departments  of  politics  the  vote  is  the  one  which  there  is 
least  excuse  for  so  treating.  The  vote  is  a  simple  instrument 
for  human  happiness,  and  the  only  possible  test  of  whether 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE   '  233 

any  class  of  persons  uses  it  so  as  to  promote  human  happiness 
is  the  test  of  experience.  No  amount  of  disquisition  on  wo~ 
man's  function  qua  woman  will  bring  one  nearer  to  knowing  how 
she  will  exercise  her  function  qua  voter.  And  as  for  the 
physical  force  argument,  which  seeks  to  terrify  us  with  the 
possible  consequences  of  a  wildly  improbable  contingency,  one 
can  only  say  that  it  is  mere  folly  to  let  a  priori  considerations 
of  what  never  has  happened,  and  is  not  in  the  least  likely  to 
happen,  outweigh  proved  facts  of  experience  showing  what 
always  has  happened  in  similar  circumstances. 

But  if  once  it  is  admitted  that  the  sensible  way  of  judging 
such  a  question  as  woman  suffrage  is  by  reference  to  experi- 
ence, this  body  of  American  experience  becomes  of  decisive 
importance.  Is  the  fair-minded  anti-suffragist  sincerely  able 
to  say  that  it  is  worthless?  "It  is  all  very  well  in  America, 
but  it  wouldn't  succeed  here."  That  is  really  a  desperate  argu- 
ment on  this  question.  It  is  the  argument  of  the  gentleman 
from  Wyoming:  "It  is  a  success  in  Wyoming,  but  then  Wyom- 
ing is  exceptional ;  it  would  be  a  failure  anywhere  else."  That 
sounds  plausible  enough  in  Wyoming.  But  suppose  this  gen- 
tleman took  a  tour  through  the  other  suffrage  states,  and  then 
a  voyage  to  New  Zealand  and  the  eight  states  of  Australia, 
and  on  to  Finland  and  Norway.  How  long  would  his  argument 
hold  out?  Would  it  not  dawn  upon  him  that  such  a  succession 
of  exceptions  begins  to  prove  a  rule? 

Is  not  the  matter  quite  fairly  stated  thus?  If  the  women 
of  England  use'  their  votes  in  the  same  kind  of  way  and  on 
the  same  kind  6f  subjects  as  the  women  of  these  nine  Ameri- 
can states  are  j  stated  to  be  using  them,  then  the  grant  of 
woman  suffrage  will  surely  be  a  notable  gain  to  England's 
welfare.  And  Is  there  any  ground  whatever  for  supposing  that 
they  will  use  them  otherwise  or  less  sensibly?  Let  us  leave  it 
at  that. 

ROBERT   PALMER. 

(II.) 

Out  of  the  forty-eight  states  which  constitute  the  United 
States  of  America  there  are  now  nine  which  have  granted  the 
full  political  franchise  to  women  on  equal  terms  with  men. 


234  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

The  women  electors  in  these  states  are  now  entitled  to  vote 
not  merely  for  members  of  the  State  Legislature,  but  also 
for  members  of  the  United  States  Congress,  and  even  for  the 
President  himself.  As  a  writer  in  the  Times  has  pointed 
out,  "One  fifth  of  the  United  States  Senate,  one  seventh  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  one  sixth  of  the  Presi- 
dential vote  of  the  United  States  comes  now  from  states 
where  women  exercise  suffrage  just  as  men  do."  Of  these 
nine  states  three,  Idaho,  Utah,  and  Wyoming,  have  never 
known  any  other  suffrage  since  they  were  first  incorporated 
as  states — of  the  others,  five  have  only  extended  the  suffrage 
to  women  within  the  past  few  years,  beginning  with  Wash- 
ington in  1910.  A  tenth  state,  Illinois,  has  very  recently 
adopted  a  woman  suffrage  measure  on  a  somewhat  different 
basis,  but  it  is  outside  the  scope  of  the  present  inquiry. 

It  is  natural  that  we  should  look  to  this  great  experiment 
in  America  for  some  instruction  on  matters  at  present  subject 
to  controversy  among  ourselves.  In  drawing  any  lessons  two 
cautions  must  be  observed.  The  experiment  is  still  in  too  early 
a  stage  to  afford  conclusive  evidence  as  to  the  effects  of  woman 
suffrage,  and  the  conditions  in  America  differ  very  greatly 
from  the  conditions  in  this  country.  The  necessity  for  these 
cautions  will  be  evident  from  the  following  table,  which,  with 
the  exception  of  the  dates,  has  been  compiled  from  the  "Sta- 
tistical Abstract  of  the  United  States." 


E 
State 
Idaho 

n 

Woman 
Suffrage 
stablished 
Date 
1896 
1896 
1869 
1893 
l    1910 
1911           1 
1912 
1912 
1912 

7  oman 

Male 
185,546 
196,863 
91,670 
430,697 
658,663 
,322,978 
384,265 
118,574 
885,912 

Suffrage  States 

Population  in  191 
Female 

140,048 
176,488 
54,295 
368,327 
483,327 
1,054,571 
288,500 
85,780 
805,037 

Total 
325,594 
373,351 
145,965 
799,024 
1,141,990 
2,377,549 
672,765 
204,354 
1,690,948 

Average 
Density  of 
Population 
per  Sq.  Mile 
3.9 
4.5 
1.6 
7.7 
17.1 
15.3 
7.0 
1.8 
20.7 

Utah  
Wyoming 
Colorado   . 
Washingtoi 
California 
Oregon  .  .  . 
Arizona   .  . 
Kansas  .  .  . 

The  average  density  of  population  for  the  whole  United 
States  is  30.9  per  square  mile.  For  the  six  New  England 
states  it  is  105.7  per  square  mile,  and  for  the  three  Middle 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  235 

Atlantic  states  it  is  193.2  per  square  mile.  It  may  be  noted 
further  that  the  nine  woman  suffrage  states  are  all  Far 
Western,  indeed  mostly  Pacific  Coast,  states.  The  popula- 
tion is  chiefly  rural  in  character,  agricultural  and  mining.  They 
are  all  still  in  a  somewhat  primitive  stage  of  political  de- 
velopment, and  the  Western  pioneer  spirit  still  strongly  sur- 
vives. 

A  valuable  public  service  has  been  rendered  by  the  twelve 
distinguished  ladies,  holding  widely  divergent  views,  but  hav- 
ing the  same  desire  to  ascertain  the  truth,  who  have  taken 
steps  to  secure  the  first-hand  evidence  of  a  large  number  of 
citizens  occupying  responsible  positions  in  these  states,  as  to 
how  woman  suffrage  came  to  be  established  and  how  it  is 
working.  Some  guidance  as  to  the  information  desired  was 
given  to  these  witnesses  in  the  form  of  a  carefully  framed  list 
of  questions,  including  matters  of  personal  opinion  and  im- 
pression, as  well  as  matters  of  fact.  I  have  now  before  me 
some  sixty  sets  of  answers  to  these  questions,  and  my  pres- 
ent object  is  to  summarise  their  general  effect  and  the  conclu- 
sions it  seems  possible  to  draw  from  them.  It  will  clear  the 
air  to  deal  with  questions  of  fact  first. 

Nothing  remotely  approaching  "militant  tactics"  has  ever 
characterized  the  woman  suffrage  movement,  or  any  section 
of  the  movement,  in  any  of  those  states  which  now  enjoy  it — 
"not  even  a  procession,"  adds  a  Californian  lady.  Several  sup- 
porters of  the  movement  express  surprise  at  the  leniency 
with  which  "militant"  offences  are  treated  in  England  It  has 
never  been  a  party  question  between  the  two  great  parties, 
Republican  and  Democratic.  As  with  us  it  cut  across  both 
parties.  Mr.  Roosevelt's  personal  followers,  who  afterwards 
became  the  "Bull  Moose"  Party,  espoused  the  cause  with  more 
enthusiasm  than  the  others.  It  is  occasionally  mentioned  that 
the  Socialist  or  Labor  Party  made  it  a  party  question,  but 
this  does  not  seem  to  have  been  an  important  influence  in 
any  of  the  states.  Nor  has  the  grant  of  the  suffrage  resulted 
in  the  formation  of  any  new  party  in  the  state — a  distinctively 
Feminist  Party.  The  women  voters  have  fallen  into  line  with 
the  existing  parties,  which  bid  for  their  support  by  giving 
prominence  to  issues  which  they  think  likely  to  be  specially 


236  .       SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

attractive  to  women.  There  are  special  ad  hoc  "clubs,"  or 
committees,  for  the  promotion  of  special  measures,  but  these 
temporary  combinations  are  non-party.  There  has  been,  how- 
ever, an  impetus  to  the  formation  of  women's  "clubs,"  and 
at  Seattle  (Washington)  it  is  mentioned  that  "there  has  been 
formed  an  influential  organization  which  works  outside  all 
party  lines  to  inform  and  direct  the  women's  vote."  This  de- 
velopment may  have  significance.  As  to  its  effect  upon  the 
balance  between  existing  parties,  the  majority  of  answers 
indicate  that  there  has  been  no  change  at  all ;  in  fact,  that  the 
male  vote  has  simply  been  duplicated.  There  are  suggestions, 
however,  that  the  women  voters  tend  to  act  independently  on 
"moral  issues,"  and  what  effect  this  might  have  on  parties  in 
the  event  of  some  great  national  issue  arising  it  is  impossible 
to  foretell.  An  appreciable  minority  consider  that  the  "Pro- 
gressive," or  "Bull  Moose,"  Party  has  been  strengthened  by  the 
women's  vote.  This  certainly  seems  to  have  been  the  case 
in  California  and  Washington,  but  an  answer  from  Idaho  in- 
dicates that  the  "Progressive"  appeal  failed  there.  Several  as- 
sert that  women  are  stricter  and  more  ardent  partisans  than 
men,  and  if  this  be  so  it  may  have  important  political  conse- 
quences. All  are  agreed  that  there  is  no  agitation  for  re- 
peal, certainly  no  organized  agitation.  Such  opposition  as 
exists  has  so  far  been  confined  to  individual  expressions  of 
opinion. 

In  each  state  women  have  received  the  vote  precisely  on 
the  same  terms  as  men.  Indeed  it  is  noticeable  that  the 
watchword  of  the  advocates  has  been  not  "Woman  Suffrage," 
or  "Votes  for  Women,"  but  "Equal  Suffrage."  It  is  a  good 
"cry,"  from  the  electioneering  point  of  view.  The  use  of  the 
word  "equal"  seems  to  have  made  a  strong  appeal  to  the  man- 
in-the-street's,  or  rather  the  man-on-the-prairie's,  sense  of  jus- 
tice and  fair  play.  It  should  be  added,  however,  otherwise 
the  statement  would  be  misleading,  that  in  America  the  suf- 
frage was  not  based  on  a  property  qualification,  but  was  man- 
hood suffrage.  Practically  every  woman  in  those  states  who 
is  of  age  can  "register."  If  it  were  a  property  qualification  it 
might  admit  most  men  and  exclude  most  women,  which  would 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  237 

be  the  very  reverse  of  "equal  suffrage."  The  suffrage  also  car- 
ries with  it  the  right  to  sit  in  the  state  legislature,  and  in 
many  of  the  states  women  members  have  actually  been  elected. 
Although  they  can  vote  in  elections  of  Congress,  however,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  they  are  entitled  to  sit  in  Congress.  That  is 
a  question  which  can  only  be  settled  in  a  court  of  law. 

With  regard  to  statistics  the  answers  are  unsatisfactory. 
The  most  hazy  notions  seem  to  prevail  as  to  the  proportion  of 
men  and  women  at  present  on  the  register,  and  as  to  the  per- 
centage of  those  on  the  register,  of  either  sex,  who  vote. 
Widely  varying  estimates  and  guesses  are  given.  This  revela- 
tion of  vagueness  and  uncertainty  on  matters  of  fact  is  in  itself 
interesting  and  suggestive.  For  eight  out  of  the  nine  states 
the  answers  give  no  reliable  information,  but  in  the  case  of 
California  it  is  possible  to  give  some  partial  figures.  In  a  very 
well-considered  series  of  answers  by  a  committee  of  ladies  it 
is  mentioned  that  "The  state  has  made  no  report  and  registra- 
tion is  not  segregated."  There  are  appended,  however,  two 
articles  from  the  "California  Outlook,"  from  which,  and  from 
another  answer,  the  following  figures  are  compiled  in  regard  to 
three  recent  municipal  (not  state)  elections : 

Percentage  of  Percentage  of  Male 

Total  Electorate  and  of  Female 

of  Either  Sex  Electors  Who  Voted 

Municipality                  Male           Female  Male           Female 

San  Francisco   .                          65.5                34.5  51.8                48.5 

Los  Angeles   56.9                43.1  54.2                50.2 

Berkeley   53.4                46.6  49.0                42.7 

These  municipal  figures  indicate  that  the  male  electorate 
outnumbers  the  female,  as  indeed  was  only  to  be  expected  from 
the  population  statistics  already  given,  and  that  the  proportion 
of  women  electors  who  go  to  the  poll  is  very  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  as  great  as  that  of  men.  Further  figures  indicate  that 
in  the  quarters  where  the  "prosperous,  professional,  and  busi- 
ness" classes  reside  the  women  voters  actually  outnumbered 
the  men,  whereas  in  the  "manufacturing,  factory,  and  labour- 
ing section,  notably  along  the  water  front,"  the  men  voters 
largely  outnumbered  the  women. 

Information  was  requested  as  to  what  laws  had  been  passed 


238  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

in  each  of  these  states  since  the  grant  of  woman  suffrage,  atten- 
tion being  specially  directed,  under  numerous  heads,  to  legis- 
lation affecting  women  and  children  and  touching  various  social, 
domestic,  and  moral  questions.  As  a  matter  of  fact  men  are 
just  as  much  interested  in  all  these  subjects  as  women,  and 
women  have  just  as  much  at  stake  as  men  in  the  more  strictly 
imperial  and  business  aspects  of  legislation.  It  is  just  as  im- 
portant to  know  how  woman  suffrage  affects  Foreign  Policy, 
National  Defence,  Methods  of  Taxation,  Commercial  Law,  and 
Industrial  Legislation  as  it  is  to  know  how  it  affects  more 
domestic  matters.  The  state  legislatures,  of  course,  are  ex- 
cluded from  dealing  with  imperial  questions.  It  must  be 
remembered  moreover  that  most  of  the  states  have  had  very 
little  time  for  legislation  since  women  had  a  share  in  electing 
the  legislatures. 

In  California,  for  example,  the  first  legislature  to  be  elected 
by  both  men  and  women  voters  met  for  the  first  time  in  1913. 
During  that  session  legislation  of  various  degrees  of  import- 
ance has  been  passed  under  most  of  the  heads  of  the  inquiry. 
The  following  were  among  the  measures  passed: 

The  Eight  Hours'  Day  law  already  in  existence  for  women  in 
certain  industries  was  extended  to  some  other  industries. 

A  Minimum  Wage  Act  to  regulate  the  employment  of  women 
and  children,  and  to  be  administered  by  an  Industrial  Welfare 
Commission. 

An  Act  for  the  abatement  of  houses  of  prostitution. 

An  Act  restricting  child  labour:  no  minor  under  eighteen  to  be 
employed  more  than  eight  hours  a  day. 

An  Act  raising  the  "age  of  consent"  from  sixteen  to  eighteen 
years. 

An  Act  increasing  the  penalty  for  rape. 

A  Bastardy  Act  compelling  the  father  as  well  as  the  mother  to 
support  and  educate  an  illegitimate  child. 

An  Equal  Guardianship  Act  for  parents. 

An  Act  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  between  2  a.  m. 
and  6  a.  m. 

An  Act  creating  a  Pension  Fund  for  public  school  teachers. 

An  Act  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  kindergartens. 

An  Act  authorising  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  to  inves- 
tigate and  report  concerning  old  age  insurance,  and  pensions,  and 
mothers'  pensions. 

An  Act  amending  the  law  with  regard  to  the  support  of  orphans 
and  abandoned  children. 

This  list  is  much  fuller  than  that  provided  for  any  of  the 
other  states,  and  it  certainly  shows  much  legislative  activity. 
The  prophets  will  be  confounded  by  the  complete  absence  of 
any  mention  of  drastic  legislative  restriction  of  the  liquor  traffic, 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  239 

such  as  exists  being  mostly  passed  before  women  got  the  vote. 
A  Colorado  witness  remarks :  "This  has  been  our  great  disap- 
pointment." I  will  refer  later  to  the  inferences  which  may  be 
drawn  from  these  facts. 

So  much  for  matters  of  fact.  As  regards  matters  of  opin- 
ion, it  may  be  said  that  there  is  practical  unanimity  as  to  the 
absence  of  any  ill-feeling  or  dissension  in  families  caused  by 
women  voting,  and  the  usefulness  of  women  in  the  home  has 
not  been  impaired.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  wife  votes  in 
the  same  way  as  the  husband.  This  involves  no  reflection  on 
the  intelligence  or  independence  of  the  wife.  It  might  as  well 
be  said  that  the  husband  votes  in  the  same  way  as  the  wife. 
Community  of  environment  and  interest  are  the  determining 
factors.  The  same  is  true  of  father  and  son.  In  one  respect, 
however,  there  is  a  sharp  conflict  of  opinion.  While  the  vast 
majority  of  answers  indicate  that  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage 
has  not  impaired  the  usefulness  of  women  in  the  home,  many 
of  those  who  have  opposed  the  principle  are  of  opinion  that  it 
has  done  so,  or  will  do  so.  Answers  such  as  "It  will"  or  "It 
must"  seem  to  be  based  on  a  priori  grounds  rather  than  on  ex- 
perience. Probably  these  witnesses  are  thinking  more  of  polit- 
ical propaganda  and  campaigning  than  of  the  mere  exer- 
cise of  the  franchise.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
occasional  dropping  of  a  paper  in  the  ballot-box  and 
the  taking  of  an  intelligent  interest  in  current  poli- 
tics can  impair  anyone's  usefulness.  Novel  reading,  or 
bridge,  or  social  functions,  as  some  of  the  answers  point  out, 
have  done  more  to  distract  women  from  their  home  duties 
than  politics  are  ever  likely  to  do.  Of  course  there  are  women 
who  will  neglect  their  homes,  just  as  there  are  men  who  will 
neglect  both  their  business  and  their  homes,  for  politics.  "Your 
flannel-mouthed  suffragist,"  says  one,  "is  not  a  home-making 
woman  at  all.  She  is  a  hotel  and  boarding-house  and  restau- 
rant woman."  These  are  the  exceptions,  and  I  do  not  sup- 
pose that  they  are  confined  to  one  side.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive that  the  possession  or  the  absence  of  a  vote  could  make 
much  difference  to  their  attitude  towards  their  homes. 

Now  we  come  to   the  more  debatable  ground.     Where  did 


240  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

the  strength  of  the  movement  and  of  the  opposition  to  it  lie? 
Extraordinary  diversity  and  vagueness  prevail  in  the  answers. 
The  matter  cannot  be  settled  so  simply  as  one  witness  thinks 
who  declares  that  "The  opposition  was  all  from  the  rabble, 
riffraff,  and  scum.  The  decent  people  and  respectable  newspa- 
pers were  all  in  favour  of  it."  The  very  next  witness  is  a  dis- 
tinguished educationalist  who  declares  himself  an  opponent. 
The  real  strength  of  the  movement  seems  to  have  lain  in  the 
indifference  and  apathy  of  those  who  were  theoretically  op- 
posed to  it.  There  appears  to  have  been  practically  no  or- 
ganized opposition  to  it  at  all,  though  the  smallness  of  the  ma- 
jorities show  that  there  must  have  been  a  strong  underlying 
opposition.  "Personally  I  do  not  believe  in  women  voting," 
says  one,  "but  I  believe  we  cannot  stop  it — that  it  is  in  the  air — 
a  part  of  the  evolution  of  the  age."  The  women,  moreover,  by 
their  methods  and  propaganda,  did  not  challenge  opposition. 
They  steadily  and  quietly  cultivated  a  growing  body  of  public 
opinion  and  encouraged  the  sentiment  that  it  was  inevitable — 
a  part  of  the  ordinary  course  of  evolution  and  progress.  Many 
of  the  witnesses  are  struck  by  the  fact  that  the  strongest  op- 
position seems  to  have  come  from  women  themselves. 

The  most  noteworthy  feature  of  the  answers  to  the  question 
"What  constituted  the  strength  of  the  movement?"  is  the  fre- 
quency with  which  the  word  "justice"  recurs.  Its  "strength  lay 
in  a  feeling  of  justice,"  says  an  opponent.  Undeniably  this  feel- 
ing, whether  it  was  well  founded  or  not,  was  very  widespread. 
There  is  no  more  powerful  force  in  politics  than  "a  feeling 
of  justice."  It  is  difficult  to  define  precisely  what  is  meant  by 
"justice,"  and  no  one  offers  an  explanation.  Occasionally  the 
word  "fair  play"  is  used  in  the  same  sense.  The  useful  cry, 
"Equal  Suffrage,"  quietly  and  unobtrusively  makes  the  same 
suggestion.  Possibly  the  underlying  assumption  may  be  some 
ill-considered  dogma  as  to  the  meaning  or  nature  of  Demo- 
cratic Government.  The  American  Constitution  contains  some 
rather  dubious  philosophy.  However  its  existence  may  be  ex- 
plained, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  "feeling  of  justice" 
was  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  securing  woman  suf- 
frage. Another  word  which  frequently  recurs  is  "moral."  It 
seems  to  be  a  popular  notion  in  America  that  Woman  is  a  being 
with  a  superior  moral  standard  to  Man's.  "Womanhood  uri- 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  241 

tainted  ever  allies  itself  with  the  virtues"  is  one  very  character- 
istic expression.  The  strength  of  the  movement  lay,  says  an- 
other, "in  a  general  conviction  that  male  suffrage  was  so  de- 
based as  to  moral  issues  that  it  could  not  be  trusted."  Many 
people  seem  to  have  been  influenced  by  the  idea  that  politics 
would  be  purified  by  women's  votes. 

For  the  rest,  there  is  ample  evidence  that  the  movement  was 
strengthened  by  the  sparseness  of  the  population,  and  the  pre- 
dominance of  the  rural  districts  over  the  towns.  In  Utah  the 
opinion  is  several  times  expresed  by  supporters  of  woman  suf- 
frage that  it  was  initiated  by  the  Mormons  to  secure  more 
effective  control  of  the  state.  "The  Mormons  doubled  their 
votes  and  massed  them.  Outside  votes  were  doubled  also,  but 
they  were  scattered."  In  this  connexion  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  in  three  other  suffrage  states  the  Mormon  vote  is  an 
important  factor.  The  saloon-keepers  and  others  interested  in 
the  liquor  traffic  are  generally  accused  of  having  been  among 
the  most  active  opponents.  That  was  only  to  be  expected 
owing  to  the  prominence  given  to  the  idea  that  woman  suffrage 
means  "prohibition."  Even  the  "Trade"  opposition,  however, 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  serious  factor,  and  in  practice 
the  women  do  not  seem  to  have  been  as  powerful  a  "prohi- 
bition" lever  as  was  supposed. 

As  to  the  effect  of  woman  suffrage  upon  the  character  of 
candidates  for  municipal  or  state  offices,  and  upon  the  nature 
of  the  laws  passed,  and  generally,  opinions  vary  widely  and 
tend  to  run  on  party  lines.  Roughly  speaking  about  half  of  the 
witnesses  declare  that  the  effect  all  round  has  been  emphatic- 
ally good  and  very  pronounced;  a  quarter  assert  that  the  effect 
has  been  good  so  far  as  it  goes ;  while  the  remainder  are  of  opin- 
ion that  it  has  either  had  no  influence,  or  the  influence  can- 
not be  traced.  In  Kansas,  we  are  told,  "men  who  drink  can't 
run.  Also  women  chasers  are  barred  by  public  opinion."  In 
California  reference  is  repeatedly  made  to  the  defeat  of  a 
senator  who  is  variously  described  as  a  "machine  politician," 
an  "undesirable  man,"  and  a  "representative  of  the  drink  traf- 
fic, the  prize  fighters,  and  the  gamblers,"  and  to  the  recall  of 
a  judge  who  is  alleged  to  have  been  "too  lenient  with  men 
who  were  charged  with  crimes  against  women."  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  as  is  several  times  pointed  out,  that 


242  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

"there  has  been  such  an  uplift  in  this  regard  in  all  America 
that  it  is  hard  to  determine." 

I  have  already  called  attention  to  laws  which  have  actu- 
ally been  passed  in  California  in  the  first  session  of  the  first 
legislature  for  which  women  have  voted.  It  remains  to  con- 
sider whether  the  women's  vote  has  had  any  traceable  effect 
upon  the  character  of  such  legislation.  Post  hoc,  propter  hoc 
is  a  very  tempting  fallacy.  Several  of  the  witnesses,  how- 
ever, are  careful  to  point  out  that  considerable  progress  was 
made  in  similar  legislation  in  many  of  these  states  before 
women  voted,  and  that  many  other  states  in  which  women  do 
not  vote  (and  the  United  Kingdom,  I  may  add)  are  still  more 
advanced  in  this  direction. 

The  conclusion  to  which  I  have  come  after  reading  through 
all  the  answers  is  that  women  through  their  votes  have  had 
some  influence,  quite  different  from  the  moral  influence  which 
they  exercise  without  the  vote,  upon  legislation.  It  is  difficult 
to  define  this  influence  precisely.  Frequent  reference  is  made 
to  the  manner  in  which  "moral  issues"  appeal  to  women.  I 
cannot  accept  the  view  occasionally  expressed  that  women  have 
"a  somewhat  higher  moral  standard"  than  men,  but  it  is  quite 
possible  that,  holding  the  same  moral  standard,  they  may  give 
different  effect  to  it  in  politics.  I  am  impressed  by  several 
suggestions  that  women  are  much  stricter  and  more  ardent 
partisans  than  men ;  that  they  look  to  moral  character  in  can- 
didates rather  than  to  ability;  and  that  they  have,  in  a  greater 
degree  than  men,  "a  tendency  to  regulate  morals  by  law."  Men 
are  on  the  whole  more  tolerant  than  women  and  inclined  to 
allow  a  wider  latitude  of  personal  moral  freedom  so  long  as 
the  rights  of  others  are  not  interfered  with.  Women  are,  on 
the  whole,  more  inclined  to  make  their  personal  moral  code  a 
moral  code  imperative  for  others  also,  and  to  apply  coercion  to 
secure  conformity.  Coercive  legislation,  depending  as  it  does 
upon  the  physical  arm  of  the  law  for  its  enforcement,  if  it  is  to 
be  effective,  must  have  behind  it  the  physical  strength  of  the 
country.  If  the  majority  of  men  should  be  against  it,  if  its 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  243 

chief  support  comes  from  women  who,  while  unable  as  indi- 
viduals to  exercise  physical  coercion,  are  yet  able,  through  the 
ballot-box,  to  evoke  the  physical  arm  of  the  law,  then  there  is 
grave  danger  in  extreme  cases  of  a  general  conspiracy  to  evade 
the  law.  Authority,  finding  itself  with  a  task  beyond  its  power, 
will  wink  at  the  offenders.  Law  will  fall  into  disrespect.  There 
will  gradually  grow  up  a  hypocritical  feeling  towards  legisla- 
tion. "What  does  it  matter  what  they  pass?  Let  them  pass 
anything  they  like,  and  if  we  find  it  inconvenient  we  will 
evade  it."  If  this  became  a  general  attitude  it  would  destroy 
that  sense  of  responsibility  and  of  respect  for  law  which  is 
the  firmest  foundation  for  stable  government. 

But  there  is  not  sufficient  material,  the  experience  is  too 
short,  to  dogmatise.  I  have  tried  to  sum  up  the  evidence  as 
impartially  as  possible,  but  I  have  not  tried  to  conceal  my  own 
views,  and  I  have  found  nothing  in  the  evidence  to  modify 
them. 

Nineteenth  Century.  74:  979-87.  November,  1913. 

Women's  Parliamentary  Franchise  in  Practice. 

George  Horsfall  Frodsham. 

The  militant  methods  of  the  suffragettes  may  have  brought 
the  women's  parliamentary  franchise  into  greater  prominence 
in  this  country  than  would  have  been  the  case  under  more 
normal  conditions.  It  is  unquestionable  that  such  methods  are 
now  actively  retarding  any  reform  of  existing  laws  in  a  way 
desired  by  all  supporters  of  the  women's  vote.  Grave  doubts 
have  been  caused  as  to  the  fitness  of  women  to  exercise  legisla- 
tive functions,  and  many  side  issues  have  been  raised  which 
are  not  directly  germane  to  the  reform,  but  which  intensify 
the  opposition  to  it. 

Moreover,  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  women's  vote  should 
have  been  confused  with  the  movement  to  obtain  a  wider  basis 
of  suffrage  generally.  The  trend  of  democratic  government  is 


244  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

towards  manhood  and  womanhood  franchise.  This  goal  has 
been  reached  already  in  some  parts  of  the  Empire.  But  many 
who  are  in  favour  of  one  reform  are  not  in  favour  of  the 
other,  while  those  who  desire  both  do  not  always  desire  their 
consummation  with  equal  rapidity.  Some,  for  instance,  de- 
precate a  premature  widening  of  the  franchise,  and  they  do  so 
on  grounds  which  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  sex 
question.  It  would  promote  clearer  judgment,  therefore,  to 
separate  the  two  issues,  and  such  separation  would  probably  tell 
in  favour  of  the  women's  vote.  The  principle  once  gained, 
further  development  would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Experience  of  the  women's  parliamentary  franchise  in  prac- 
tice abroad  very  generally  predisposes  one  towards  the  women's 
vote  in  the  United  Kingdom.  At  the  same  time  it  disperses 
completely  any  dreams  of  the  social  and  political  millennium 
which  many  women  fondly  believe  will  follow  a  reform  in  this 
country.  The  social  interests  of  women  undoubtedly  are  more 
readily  conserved  where  women  can  speak  through  the  potent, 
if  not  always  intelligible,  voice  of  the  ballot-box.  There  are 
peculiar  weaknesses  in  the  women's  vote  which  show  themselves 
in  practice.  The  privileges  and  responsibilities  of  the  franchise 
are  exercised  a  little  less  fully  by  women  than  by  men.  In 
some  cases  there  is  an  increasing  disinclination  to  vote,  but 
speaking  generally  there  is  a  rising  percentage  of  both  male 
and  female  voters.  There  are  no  appreciable  signs  of  women 
using  their  vote  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  divisions  of  sex 
interests.  The  existing  balances  of  the  various  political  parties 
was  scarcely  disturbed  at  all  by  the  large  influx  of  new  voters. 
The  women's  vote  has  been  exercised  most  potently  and  with 
the  most  marked  independence  in  referenda  concerning  the 
alcohol  question  in  New  Zealand,  and  the  religious  education 
privileges  in  Queensland.  In  more  technical  referenda  concern- 
ing the  revision  of  the  Constitution  women  appear  to  have  voted 
with  their  men,  as  the  balance  of  parties  has  been  so  little 
disturbed.  There  is  no  sign  that  the  judgment  of  either  sex 
pre-eminently  has  outclassed  the  other.  The  familiar  fallacy 
of  comparing  the  most  brilliant  of  one  sex  with  the  least 
intelligent  of  the  other  is  at  the  bottom  of  some  acrimonious 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  245 

discussion  on  both  sides.  A  balanced  judgment  of  the  facts 
seems  to  show  that  the  women  use  the  Parliamentary  vote 
creditably,  and  that  the  administration  of  democratic  govern- 
ment is  enriched  on  its  social  side  by  the  inclusion  of  direct 
representation  of  the  women's  interests. 

The  political  and  moral  vagaries  of  some  women  in  England 
caused  me  to  review  my  experience,  extending  over  the  whole 
period  of  the  inception  and  working  of  women's  franchise  in 
Australia.  I  also  tried  to  obtain  accurate  information  with 
regard  to  New  Zealand  and  to  Finland.  And  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  wish  to  accept  the  Bishop  of  Winchester's  earnest 
appeal  for  a  "strenuous  consideration"  of  the  subject,  I  now 
venture  to  review  the  women's  parliamentary  franchise  in  prac- 
tice. Surely  the  last  sane  word  has  not  yet  been  said  in  support 
of  votes  for  women. 

It  is  freely  stated  that  the  women  in  this  country  do  not 
want  the  Parliamentary  vote.  The  same  was  said,  and  is  said, 
in  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Probably  there  is  much  truth 
in  the  statement.  But  I  have  heard  men  aver  much  the  same 
thing  with  regard  to  their  own  franchise.  This  may  be  due 
to  a  certain  national  habit  which  nee'd  not  be  taken  too  seriously. 
Tested  at  the  polls,  both  sexes,  with  little  variation  as  to  pro- 
portionate numbers,  use  the  privileges  which  some  profess  they 
do  not  want.  The  statistics  following  are  based  upon  three 
successive  Commonwealth  elections,  and  upon  the  latest  elec- 
tions of  the  respective  states  for  which  figures  are  available. 
In  reading  them  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  Australasia  and 
in  Finland  there  is  adult  suffrage  for  both  sexes,  without 
property  qualifications  of  any  kind.  This  fact  gives  greater, 
and  not  less,  interest  to  the  subject  under  review. 

Commonwealth  of  Australia 

Percentage  of  Voters  on  the  Registers  ivho  Polled  at  the  Vari- 
ous Elections — Commonwealth  Elections 

House  of 

Senate  Representatives 

Election  Men      Women  Men      Women 

1903    53.09         39.96  56.47         43.50 

1906    56.38         43.30  57.35         44.81 

1910   67.58         56.17  68.12         56.93 


246  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

State  Elections 

Men  Women 

New  South  Wales   (1907) 72.10  60.78 

Victoria    (1911)    68.43  59.12 

Queensland   (1912)    70.68  70.54 

Tasmania    (1909)     60.74  43.67 

South  Australia   (1910)    77.61  64.02 

West  Australia  (1911)    74.44  75.50 

Several  interesting  facts  emerge  from  these  figures:  (i) 
The  proportion  of  votes  cast  by  both  sexes  at  the  Common- 
wealth elections,  with  the  wider  political  issues  involved,  is 
smaller  than  in  the  case  of  the  more  local  state  elections.  (2) 
The  interest  taken  in  the  Upper  House,  although  it  is  elective, 
is  small  than  that  taken  in  the  Lower  House  of  Represen- 
tatives. Both  elections  are  taken  at  the  same  time.  (3)  The 
percentage  of  women  voting  is  generally  a  little  smaller  than 
that  of  the  men.  (4)  The  percentage  is  increasing  in  much  the 
same  ratio  in  both  sexes. 

Dominion  of  New  Zealand 

Proportion   of   Voters   on  the   Registers  Polling  at  Five   Suc- 
cessive  General  Elections 

Percentage  of  Male      Female  Votes 

Votes  Recorded  Recorded 

1896     75.90  76.44 

1902    78.44  74.52 

1905    84.07  82.23 

1908    81.11  78.26 

1911    84.58  82.57 

With  regard  to  the  New  Zealand  statistics  little  need  be 
added  in  explanation.  The  women's  vote  has  been  longer  in 
use,  therefore  figures  stretching  over  a  longer  period  are  avail- 
able. There  is  no  division  between  wider  and  local  interests 
as  is  the  case  in  Australia.  New  Zealand  is  one  state  and  one 
dominion.  Also  the  comparative  smallness  of  territory  makes 
access  to  the  polls  a  much  simpler  matter  in  New  Zealand 
than  is  rendered  possible  by  the  long  distances  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. Lack  of  interest  in  the  election  of  1908  seems  to 
have  been  shown  by  both  sexes  alike. 

A  great  deal  that  has  been  written  in  England  about  the 
women's  franchise  in  Finland  does  not  appear  to  be  upheld 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  247 

by  the  official  documents  of  the  gallant  little  Archduchy.  I 
am  indebted  to  my  friend,  Professor  Julio  N.  Reuter,  of  Hel- 
singfors,  for  accurate  translations  of  the  latest  official  publi- 
cations upon  the  subject.  The  statistics  of  the  use  of  the 
women's  vote  stretch  over  four  general  elections,  and  are  as 
follows : 

Finland 

Proportion  of  Voters  on  the  Registers  Polling  at  Four 
Successive   General   Elections 

Percentage  of  Male  Female  Votes 
Votes  Recorded  Recorded 

1908  68.9  60.3 

1909  70.5  60.5 

1910  64.9  55.8 

1911  65.3  64.8 

In  order  to  appreciate  these  figures  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  Finnish  Diet  has  only  a  very  limited  authority  in 
purely  local  affairs,  and  that  the  repressive  methods  of  the 
Russian  Government  account  for  the  lack  of  interest  in  a  Diet 
whose  laws  are  constantly  being  over-ridden  by  the  decrees  of 
the  Duma  or  set  aside  by  the  Russian  administration.  At  the 
same  time  it  must  be  noted  that  the  decrease  of  women  voters 
who  actually  polled  is  very  marked,  and  should  be  compared 
with  the  decrease  in  the  number  of  women  representatives  in 
the  Diet. 

With  due  regard  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  Finland,  all 
the  figures  set  forth  appear  to  show  that  in  practice  women 
use  their  Parliamentary  franchise  a  little  less  fully  than  the 
men.  They  also  show  that  the  catch-phrase  "The  women  do 
not  want  the  vote"  cannot  be  pressed  very  far.  Women  cer- 
tainly have  used  the  vote  where  they  have  got  it. 

Another  point  in  the  discussion  of  the  question  that  is 
frequently  raised  in  England,  but  seldom  examined,  is  the 
numerical  preponderance  of  women  in  Great  Britain  as  com- 
pared with  other  countries  where  the  vote  is  used.  It  is  seldom 
estimated  how  much  this  preponderance  would  be  reduced  in 
this  country  by  the  disentanglement  from  the  main  issue  of  the 
manhood  and  womanhood  franchise.  The  women's  votes  under 


248  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

review  are  recorded,  however,  in  lands  where  there  is  the  widest 
basis  of  franchise.     They  compare  as  follows: 

Table  of  Voters  in  Relation  to  Sex 

Total  Population  Electoral  Roll 

Men  Women        Men         Women 

Australia    (1910)     2,296,308       2,128,775  1,186,783     1,071,699 

New  Zealand    (1911)    531,910          476,558        321,033        269,009 

Finland    (1911)    1,546,694       1,568,503        642,811        707,247 

Great  Britain  (1911)    22,015,248     23,353,842 

These  figures  reveal  the  fact,  unsuspected  by  many  in  Eng- 
land, that  there  is  not  such  an  enormous  disparity  between  the 
sexes  throughout  Australia.  In  those  Australian  states  which 
have  large  tropical  territories  the  men  predominate.  The  total 
population  of  Western  Australia,  for  instance,  on  the  3ist  of 
December,  1911,  was  composed  of  168,260  males  and  125,873 
females — that  is,  the  number  of  females  to  each  100  males  was 
only  74.81.  But  Western  Australia  is  the  one  state  where  the 
women  voted  better  than  the  men ;  moreover,  the  overplus  of 
men  in  tropical  Australia  reduces  the  variation  between  the 
sexes  in  the  more  temperate  parts  of  the  continent.  In  Finland, 
however,  the  females  distinctly  predominate,  and  the  population 
of  voters  works  out  per  centum  at  47.6  men  to  52.4  women.  I 
have  somewhat  elaborated  these  figures  in  order  to  emphasise 
my  next  point,  that  under  neither  set  of  circumstances  are 
there  any  signs  of  the  growth  of  a  feminist  party  in  politics, 
nor  even  of  any  appreciable  alteration  in  the  balance  of  existing 
political  parties. 

From  my  own  observation  in  Australia  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  a  Labour  vote  has  proportionately  gained  more  by 
the  women's  franchise  than  has  that  of  any  other  party.  This 
is  because  the  wives  and  daughters  of  working  men,  speaking 
generally,  are  less  deterred  from  going  to  the  polls,  either  by 
atmospheric  conditions  or  by  the  dread  of  a  crowd.  It  might 
be  an  interesting  inquiry,  even  if  elusive,  to  consider  closely  the 
mental  processes  which  appear  to  sway  the  women's  vote. 
Judging  solely  from  results,  the  vote  is  exercised  with  a  sound- 
ness of  judgment  at  least  equal  to  that  shown  by  male  electors. 
Households  appear  to  vote  together  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten — 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  249 

the  wives  go  with  their  husbands,  the  girls  with  their  fathers. 
This  fact  does  not  necessarily  imply  any  lack  of  independence 
of  judgment.  It  is  simply  natural  that  members  of  the  same 
family,  as  a  rule,  should  think  alike.  And  I  have  heard  it 
defended  by  women  from  the  utilitarian  point  of  view.  It 
increases  the  practical  voting  power  of  the  family  in  which 
there  are  found  both  the  stakes  and  the  binders  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. 

In  Australia  there  is  no  sex  disqualification  for  membership 
of  Parliament,  but  so  far  no  woman  has  been  successful  in 
obtaining  the  suffrages  of  her  fellow  electors.  In  New  Zealand 
only  males  are  eligible  for  election.  In  Finland,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  have  been  women  in  Parliament,  although,  as  it  has 
been  shown  their  number  shows  a  tendency  to  diminish.  This 
diminution  may  imply  a  growing  inclination  on  the  part  of  the 
Finnish  women  to  leave  the  deliberative  and  administrative 
functions  of  the  state  in  the  hands  of  the  men.  I  content 
myself  with  simply  recording  the  fact. 

The  following  table  shows  no  sign  of  any  genesis  of  a 
woman's  party  in  the  Finnish  Diet,  neither  does  it  imply  any 
appreciable  dislocation  in  the  balance  of  political  parties. 

U/Toincn  hi  embers  of  the  Finnish  Diet  Returned  by  the  Various 
Parties  at  the  General  Elections,  1907-11 


General  Elections 
Socialist  Party 

1907 
9 

1908 
13 

1909 
12 

1910 
10 

1911 
9 

Old  Finnish  Party  

,     6 

6 

4 

2 

1 

Young  Finnish  Party 

2 

2 

1 

2 

1 

Swedish  Party  . 

1 

3 

4 

3 

3 

Agrarian  Reform  Party 

1 

1 

Christian  Labourers  

Totals.  .  . 

.   19 

25 

21 

17 

14 

I  will  not  venture  to  explain  the  intricacies  of  the  Finnish 
political  parties,  nor  would  any  such  explanation  be  germane 
to  my  subject.  It  will  be  sufficient  tp  note  that  the  Socialist 
party  is  by  far  the  largest  in  the  Diet,  and  therefore  has  nor- 
mally the  largest  number  of  members  of  both  sexes.  I  am 
informed  that  this  party,  while  concerned  with  social  reforms 
in  practice,  does  not  justify  the  fears  of  those  to  whom  the 
word  "socialism"  is  anathema. 


250  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

So  far  as  my  own  observation  is  a  guide,  the  women  of 
Australasia  have  displayed  the  greatest  independence  of  judg- 
ment in  referenda  upon  social  and  educational  issues,  in  which 
their  personal  and  family  interests  are  very  directly  concerned. 
They  are  credited  with  obtaining  the  drastic  alcoholic  legisla- 
tion of  New  Zealand,  and  also  with  substituting  for  secular 
education  in  the  Queensland  state  schools  the  New  South  Wales 
system  of  religious  education.  I  am  not  concerned  at  the  pres- 
ent moment  with  the  referendum  as  a  method  of  democratic 
government,  nor  with  the  two  particular  reforms  referred  to 
above.  I  am  simply  recording  the  fact  that  women  appear  to 
have  responded  with  considerable  independence  of  judgment 
to  appeals  to  settle  direct  political  issues  with  wrhich  they  are 
thoroughly  conversant. 

It  it  is  not  easy  to  state  accurately  what  social  reforms  in 
Australasia  have  resulted  from  the  women's  vote  which  would 
not  have  come  through  the  more  restricted  male  franchise. 
Evidence  is  vehemently  contradictory  upon  the  subject  both  in 
Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Personally,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  the  chief  function  of  the  women's  vote  has  been  to  bring 
almost  automatically  into  practical  politics  social  measures  in 
which  women  are  directly  interested.  Whatever  political  func- 
tion the  women  possess  is  probably  exercised  chiefly  in  the 
audience-rooms  of  the  various  Ministers  of  the  Crown — a  far 
more  pleasant  and  effective  method  of  bringing  political  influ- 
ence to  bear  upon  a  Government  than  from  the  public  platform, 
or  through  the  columns  of  a  gallionic  Press.  A  shrewd  New 
Zealand  politician  told  me  a  few  weeks  ago  that  a  certain  great 
Antipodean  statesman  was  notoriously  careless  of  deputations 
of  women  until  the  women's  franchise  gave  them  equal  political 
importance  with  the  men.  This  illustrates  a  point  which  the 
protagonists  of  the  movement  in  Great  Britain  have  been 
endeavoring  to  make  for  some  time. 

Whether  the  political  influence  of  women  is  really  greater 
in  Finland  than  it  is  in  Australasia  I  have  no  means  of  judging. 
But  the  representation  in  the  Finnish  Diet  supplies  statistics 
of  the  extent  of  feminine  initiative  and  its  direction.  The  net 
result  appears  to  be  much  the  same  at  both  sides  of  the  world. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  251 

The  official  records  state  that  during  the  years  1907-11,  inclu- 
sive, 1,197  legislative  measures  were  initiated  or  renewed  by 
members  of  the  Finnish  Diet.  In  167  cases  initiation  was  taken 
by  women  members,  and  267  cases  conjointly  by  men  and 
women.  The  women's  initiative  was  taken  generally  in  regard 
to  questions  affecting  women  directly — such  as  the  raising  of 
girls'  marriage  age  and  the  "age  of  consent,"  the  legal  status 
of  illegitimate  children,  the  compulsion  of  communes  to  provide 
trained  midwives,  maternity  allowances,  the  mother's  right  with 
regard  to  her  children,  the  redemption  of  prostitutes,  women's 
eligibility  for  public  posts,  rights  of  women  in  respect  of  their 
property  and  earnings,  and  such  like.  In  several  instances  the 
initiation  of  women  was  concerned  with  matters  of  more  gen- 
eral interest,  such  as  legislation  concerning  the  use  of  alcohol, 
educational  questions,  the  servants'  question,  and  sanitary  re- 
form. It  would  be  unfair  and  inaccurate  to  assume  that  the 
women  members  of  the  Finnish  Diet  are  uninterested  in  wider 
questions,  or  that  they  are  unable  to  take  sane  views  upon  them. 
It  simply  means  that  their  peculiar  contribution  to  the  legislative 
welfare  of  the  state  is  upon  certain  well-defined  lines. 

I  hope  I  have  made  my  main  points  clear.  In  practice  the 
women's  vote  is  exercised  on  the  whole  no  better  or  no  worse 
than  that  of  the  men.  It  represents,  I  believe,  a  gain  to  the 
State  by  the  introduction  of  measures  which  refer  more  directly 
to  the  women's  and  the  children's  interests,  but  which  none  the 
less  benefit  the  community  as  a  whole.  There  is  apparently  no 
accentuation  of  sex  divisions,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  rather  a 
drawing  together  of  interests.  There  are  some  signs  of  an 
inclination  on  the  part  of  women  to  leave  deliberative  political 
functions,  for  what  they  are  worth,  to  the  men.  This  appears 
to  be  the  attitude  of  Australasian  women,  and  the  attitude 
has  much  sound  common  sense  behind  it. 

Sir  Almroth  Wright,  in  "The  Unexpurgated  Case  against 
Woman  Suffrage,"  asks  the  question  "Can  any  firm  reason  be 
rendered  for  the  belief  that  the  giving  of  votes  to  women 
would  be  any  whit  more  harmful  than  in  the  colonies?"  He 
appends  the  following  answer,  which  he  evidently  regards  as 
conclusive : 


252  SELECTED   ARTICLES    ON 

The  evils  of  women's  suffrage,  lie,  first,  in  the  fact  that  to  give 
the  vote  to  women  is  to  give  it  to  voters  who,  as  a  class,  are  quite 
incompetent  to  adjudicate  upon  political  issues;  secondly,  in  the  fact 
that  women  are  a  class  of  voters  who  cannot  effectively  back  up 
their  votes  by  force;  and,  thirdly,  in  the  fact  that  it  may  seriously 
embroil  man  and  woman. 

The  question  is  not  very  lucid,  but  the  answer,  I  suggest, 
with  due  deference  to  Sir  Almroth  Wright's  obvious  sincerity 
and  courage,  is  no  answer  at  all.  It  is  simply  a  statement  of 
certain  assumptions  which  not  only  disregard  the  verdict  of 
experience,  but  which,  if  accepted  as  authoritative,  would 
stultify  all  experience. 

Sir  Almroth  Wright's  second  assumption,  with  regard  to  the 
lack  of  physical  force  among  women,  has  never  been  tested 
directly  in  Australasia,  nor,  for  the  matter  of  that,  in  any 
country  in  modern  times.  It  is  provocative,  probably  uninten- 
tionally, of  further  disorder  among  the  suffragettes.  And  it 
rests  upon  a  pctitio  principii  that  the  interests  of  men  and 
women  are  fundamentally  divided.  This  may  be  asserted  both 
by  the  extreme  protagonists  as  well  as  by  the  most  stalwart 
opponents  of  women's  suffrage.  But  the  premise  is  not  accepted 
by  very  many  men  and  women  who  maintain,  with  good  reason, 
that  the  interests  of  both  sexes  are  fundamentally  united.  Cer- 
tainly the  verdict  of  experience  in  Australia  is  that  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Parliamentary  franchise  has  shown  no  signs  of 
seriously  embroiling  men  and  women.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
are  signs  that  the  interests  of  the  two  sexes  have  been  drawn 
closer  together  to  the  advantage  of  the  state.  It  is  also  the 
verdict  of  experience,  as  had  been  shown  in  this  article,  that 
women  "as  a  class"  show  themselves  just  about  as  competent 
as  men  to  adjudicate  upon  political  issues.  This  does  not 
necessarily  imply  a  universally  high  standard  amongst  voters 
of  either  sex ;  but  democracy  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  it  is 
something  to  find,  also  through  experience,  an  upward  tendency 
politically  in  both  sexes. 

It  is  not  easy  for  a  convinced  believer  in  the  supreme  impor- 
tance of  law  and  order  to  raise  his  voice  in  favour  of  the 
women's  vote  amidst  the  clamour  and  militant  lawlessness  of 
suffragettes.  None  the  less  I  have  done  so,  and  I  have  done 
so  because  I  believe  that  in  a  practical  exercise  of  the  franchise 
the  main  body  of  women  in  the  United  Kingdom  can  be  trusted 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  253 

to  show  equal  good  seuse  with  their  sisters  in  Australasia,  and 
because  I  have  seen  for  myself  that  the  welfare  of  a  democratic 
state  is  increased  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  women  members  of 
the  body  corporate. 

A  National  Amendment  for  Woman  Suffrage. 
Ida  Husted  Harper. 

The  movement  for  Woman  Suffrage  is  now  approaching  its 
last  stage,  the  goal  of  the  early  workers,  which  it  has  been  left 
for  the  third  generation  to  attain.  A  number  of  outposts 
have  had  to  be  taken,  a  vast  amount  of  educational  effort  has 
been  necessary  to  create  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  Congressional 
action  on  this  matter  of  universal  concern.  Much  work  will  still 
have  to  be  done  but  the  progress  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  that 
an  amendment  to  the  national  Constitution  for  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  women  is  a  certainty  of  the  near  future. 

The  first  convention  to  consider  the  Rights  of  Women  was 
called  by  Lucretia  Mott,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  others  in 
1848,  to  meet  at  Seneca  Falls  in  western  New  York,  Mrs.  Stan- 
ton's  home.  In  1851  the  work  was  taken  up  by  Susan  B.  Anthony, 
destined  to  be  its  supreme  leader  for  the  next  half  century. 
Meetings  soon  began  to  take  place  and  societies  to  be  formed  in 
various  states,  so  that  by  1861  there  was  a  well-defined  movement 
toward  woman  suffrage.  Large  conventions  were  held  annually 
in  Eastern  and  Western  cities,  in  which  the  most  prominent  men 
and  women  participated.  The  commencement  of  the  Civil  War 
ended  all  efforts  for  this  purpose  and  its  leaders  devoted  them- 
selves for  the  next  five  years  to  the  women's  part  of  every  war. 
In  1866  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss  Anthony  issued  a  call  for  the 
scattered  forces  to  come  together  in  convention  in  New  York 
City,  and  here  began  the  movement  for  woman  suffrage  which 
has  continued  without  a  break. 

In  the  earlier  days  there  had  been  no  thought  of  enfranchising 
women  in  any  way  except  through  the  submission  of  the  question 
to  the  voters  by  the  legislature  of  each  state,  but  now  Congress, 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  ballot  to  the  recently  freed  negro 


254  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

men,  was  about  to  submit  an.  amendment  to  the  national  Consti- 
tution. This  convention  was  called  to  protest  against  "class 
legislation"  and  demand  that  women  should  be  included.  It 
adopted  a  Memorial  to  Congress,  prepared  by  Mrs.  Stanton, 
which  contained  a  portion  of  Charles  Sumner's  great  speech, 
"Equal  Rights  for  All,"  and  was  a  complete  statement  of  woman's 
right  to  the  franchise.  In  Miss  Anthony's  address  she  said :  "Up 
to  this  hour  we  have  looked  only  to  state  action  for  recognition 
of  our  rights,  but  now,  by  the  results  of  the  war,  the  whole 
question  of  suffrage  reverts  to  Congress  and  the  United  States 
Constitution.  The  duty  of  Congress  at  this  moment  is  to  declare 
what  shall  be  the  true  basis  of  representation  in  a  republican  form 
of  government." 

The  petitions  which  during  the  preceding  winter  had  been 
sent  to  Congress  represented  the  first  effort  ever  made  for  an 
amendment  to  the  federal  Constitution  for  woman  suffrage,  and 
the  action  of  this  convention  marked  the  first  organized  demand — 
May  10,  1866.  At  this  time  the  American  Equal  Rights  Asso- 
ciation was  formed.  The  following  month  the  I4th  Amendment 
was  submitted  by  Congress  for  the  ratification  of  the  state 
legislatures,  and  it  was  declared  adopted  by  the  necessary  three- 
fourths  in  July,  1868. 

By  this  amendment  the  status  of  citizenship  was  for  the  first 
time  definitely  established — "All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in 
the  United  States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof  are  citi- 
zens." This  plainly  put  men  and  women  on  an  exact  equality  as 
to  citizenship.  Then  followed  the  broad  statement:  "No  state 
shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States."  This  also 
seemed  to  guarantee  the  equal  rights  of  men  and  women.  It 
was  the  second  section  which  aroused  the  advocates  of  suffrage 
for  women  to  vigorous  protest : 

Section  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  states  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  each  state,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed. 
But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors 
for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Representa- 
tives in  Congress,  the  Executive  and  Judicial  officers  of  a  state,  or 
the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  the  male  inhab- 
itants of  such  state,  being  21  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in 
rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  255 

be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citi- 
zens shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  21  years  of 
age  in  such  state. 

Up  to  this  time  there  was  no  mention  of  suffrage  in  the 
federal  Constitution  except  the  provision  for  electing  members 
of  the  lower  house  of  Congress,  but  now  for  the  first  time  it 
actually  discriminated  against  women  by  imposing  a  penalty  on 
the  states  for  preventing  men  from  voting  but  leaving  them 
entirely  free  to  prohibit  women.  When  even  this  penalty  proved 
insufficient  to  protect  negro  men  in  their  attempts  to  vote,  Con- 
gress in  1869  submitted  a  I5th  Amendment  which  was  declared 
ratified  the  following  year:  "The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United 
States  or  by  any  state  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  con- 
dition of  servitude." 

Again  those  who  had  been  striving  for  two  decades  to  obtain 
suffrage  for  women  protested  by  every  means  in  their  power 
against  this  second  discrimination.  They  implored  and  demanded 
that  the  word  "sex"  should  be  included  in  this  amendment,  which 
would  have  forever  settled  the  question,  just  as  the  omission  of 
the  word  "male"  in  the  I4th  Amendment  would  have  settled  it. 
The  most  of  the  men  who  had  stood  by  them  in  their  early 
struggles  for  the  vote,  when  both  were  working  together  for  the 
freedom  of  the  slaves,  now  sacrificed  them  rather  than  imperil 
the  political  rights  of  the  negro  men.  Some  of  the  women  them- 
selves were  persuaded  to  abandon  their  opposition  to  these 
amendments  by  the  promise  of  the  party  leaders  that  as  soon  as 
they  were  safely  intrenched  in  the  constitution  another  should  be 
placed  there  providing  for  Woman  Suffrage.  This  promise  they 
never  tried  to  keep  and  it  still  remains  unfulfilled. 

Miss  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Stanton  were  never  for  one  moment 
deceived  or  silenced  but  in  their  paper,  The  Revolution,  they 
opposed  these  amendments  as  long  as  they  were  pending.  A 
single  quotation  will  indicate  the  tenor  of  their  continuous  pro- 
tests :  "The  proposed  amendment  for  manhood  suffrage  not  only 
rouses  woman's  prejudices  against  the  negro  but  on  the  other 
hand  his  contempt  and  hostility  towards  her.  .  .  .  While  we  fully 
appreciate  the  philosophy  that  every  extension  of  rights  prepares 
the  way  for  greater  freedom  to  new  classes  and  hastens  the  day 


256  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

of  liberty  to  all,  we  at  the  same  time  see  the  immediate  effect  of 
class  enfranchisement  to  be  greater  tyranny  and  abuse  of  those 
who  have  no  voice  in  the  government.  Had  Irishmen  been  dis- 
franchised in  this  country  they  would  have  made  common  cause 
with  the  negro  in  fighting  for  his  rights,  but  when  exalted  above 
him  they  proved  his  worst  enemies.  The  negro  will  be  the  vic- 
tim for  generations  to  come  of  the  prejudice  engendered  by 
making  this  a  white  man's  government.  While  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  each  new  class  of  white  men  was  a  step  toward  his 
ultimate  freedom,  it  increased  his  degradation  in  the  transition 
period,  and  he  touched  the  depths  when  all  men  but  himself  were 
crowned  with  citizenship.  Just  so  with  woman;  while  the  en- 
franchisement of  all  men  hastens  the  day  for  justice  to  her,  it 
makes  her  degradation  more  complete  in  the  transition  state.  It 
is  to  escape  the  added  tyranny,  persecutions,  insults,  horrors 
which  surely  will  be  visited  upon  her  in  the  establishment  of  an 
aristocracy  of  sex  in  this  republic,  that  we  raise  our  indignant 
protest  against  this  desecration  of  woman  in  the  pending 
amendment." 

Although  the  protests  were  in  vain  the  women  had  learned 
that  they  might  be  relieved  of  the  intolerable  burden  of  having 
to  obtain  the  suffrage  state  by  state  through  permission  of  a 
majority  of  the  individual  voters.  They  had  seen  an  entire  class 
enfranchised  through  the  quicker  and  easier  way  of  amending 
the  federal  Constitution,  and  they  determined  to  invoke  this 
power  in  their  own  behalf.  From  the  office  of  The  Revolution 
in  the  autumn  of  1868  went  out  thousands  of  petitions  to  be 
signed  and  sent  to  Congress  for  the  submission  of  an  amend- 
ment to  enfranchise  women.  Immediately  after  its  assembling  in 
December,  1868,  Senator  S.  C.  Pomeroy,  of  Kansas,  introduced 
a  resolution  providing  that  "the  basis  of  suffrage  shall  be  that  of 
citizenship,  and  all  native  or  naturalized  citizens  shall  enjoy  the 
same  rights  and  privileges  of  the  elective  franchise,  but  each 
state  shall  determine  the  age,  etc."  A  few  days  later  Repre- 
sentative George  W.  Julian,  of  Indiana,  offered  one  in  the  House 
which  declared:  "The  right  of  suffrage  shall  be  based  on  citizen- 
ship .  .  .  and  all  citizens,  native  or  naturalized,  shall  enjoy  this 
right  equally  .  .  .  without  any  distinction  or  discrimination 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  257 

founded  on  sex."  These  were  the  first  propositions  ever  made 
in  Congress  for  Woman  Suffrage  by  National  Amendment. 

In  order  to  impress  Congress  with  the  seriousness  of  the 
demand,  a  convention — the  first  of  its  kind  to  meet  in  the  national 
capital — was  held  in  Washington  in  January,  1869.  It  continued 
several  days  with  large  audiences  and  an  array  of  eminent 
speakers,  including  Lucretia  Mott,  Clara  Barton,  Mrs.  Stanton, 
a  number  of  men  and  Miss  Anthony,  the  moving  spirit  of  the 
whole.  In  response  Congress  the  next  month  submitted  the 
I5th  Amendment  with  even  a  stronger  discrimination  against 
women  than  the  I4th  contained. 

The  annual  gatherings  of  the  Equal  Rights  Association  had 
been  growing  more  and  more  stormy  while  the  I4th  and  I5th 
Amendments  were  pending  and  the  point  was  reached  where 
any  criticism  of  them  made  by  the  women  was  met  by  their 
advocates  with  hisses  and  denunciation.  Finally  at  the  meeting 
of  May  12,  1869,  in  New  York  City,  with  Mrs.  Stanton  pre- 
siding, an  attempt  was  made,  led  by  Frederick  Douglass,  to 
force  through  a  resolution  of  endorsement.  Miss  Anthony  op- 
posed it  in  an  impassioned  speech  in  which  she  said:  "If  you 
will  not  give  the  whole  loaf  of  justice  to  the  entire  people, 
then  give  it  first  to  women,  to  the  most  intelligent  and  capable 
of  them  at  least.  ...  If  Mr.  Douglass  had  noticed  who  ap- 
plauded when  he  said  black  men  first  and  white  women  after- 
wards, he  would  have  seen  that  it  was  only  the  men." 

The  men  succeeded  in  wresting  the  control  of  the  conven- 
tion from  the  women,  who  then  decided  that  the  time  had  come 
for  them  to  have  their  own  organization  and  endeavor  to  have 
the  question  of  their  enfranchisement  considered  entirely  on  its 
own  merits.  Three  days  later,  at  the  Women's  Bure.au  in  East 
23rd  Street,  where  now  the  Metropolitan  Life  building  stands, 
with  representatives  present  from  nineteen  states,  the  National 
Woman  Suffrage  Association  was  formed.  Mrs.  Stanton  was 
made  president,  Miss  Anthony  chairman  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee. Over  one  hundred  women  became  members  that  even- 
ing and  here  was  begun  the  organized  work  for  an  amendment 
to  the  federal  constitution  to  confer  woman  suffrage  which  was 
to  continue  without  ceasing  for  more  than  forty  years. 


258  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

Before  the  work  for  a  i6th  Amendment  was  fairly  organ- 
ized, however,  a  number  of  members  of  Congress  and  constitu- 
tional lawyers  took  the  ground  that  women  were  already 
enfranchised  by  the  first  clause  of  the  I4th  Amendment.  At 
the  convention  held  at  St.  Louis  in  the  autumn  of  1869,  Francis 
Minor,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  that  city,  presented  this  question 
so  convincingly  that  the  newly  formed  national  association  took 
up  and  conducted  an  active  campaign  in  its  favor  for  several 
years.  In  1872  women  tried  to  vote  in  a  number  of  states  and 
in  some  of  them  were  successful.  Miss  Anthony's  vote  was 
accepted  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  later  she  was  arrested, 
charged  with  a  crime,  tried  by  a  justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  and  fined  $100.00.  The  inspectors  in  St.  Louis 
refused  to  register  Mrs.  Minor,  she  brought  suit  against  them, 
and  her  husband  carried  the  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  (Minor  vs.  Happersett).  He  presented  an 
able  and  exhaustive  argument  but  an  adverse  decision  was 
rendered  March  29,  1875. 

The  women  then  returned  to  the  original  demand  for  a  i6th 
Amendment,  which  indeed  many  of  them,  including  Miss 
Anthony  and  Mrs.  Stanton,  never  had  entirely  abandoned. 
Beginning  with  1870  congressional  committees  had  granted  a 
hearing  on  woman  suffrage  every  winter,  even  though  no  reso- 
lution was  before  them.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  national 
association  petitions  by  the  tens  of  thousands  poured  into 
Congress,  which  were  publicly  presented.  Finally,  on  January 
10,  1878,  Senator  A.  A.  Sargent,  of  California,  offered  the  fol- 
lowing joint  resolution:  "The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United 
States  or  by  any  state  on  account  of  sex." 

The  Committee  on  Privileges  and  Elections  granted  a  hear- 
ing which  consumed  a  part  of  two  days,  with  the  large  Senate 
reception  room  filled  to  overflowing  and  the  corridors  crowded. 
Extended  hearings  were  given  also  by  the  House  committee, 
and  constitutional  arguments  of  the  highest  order  -were  made 
by  noted  women  in  attendance  at  the  national  suffrage  conven- 
tion. And  yet  the  Senate  committee  reported  adversely  and  the 
House  committee  not  at  all. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  259 

This  took  place  nearly  forty  years  ago.  Senator  Sargent's 
amendment,  which  during  the  63d  Congress  was  known  as  the 
Bristow-Mondell  Amendment,  has  been  presented  to  every 
Congress  during  this  period  and  hearings  have  been  granted 
by  committees  of  every  one.  The  women  who  have  made 
their  pleadings  and  arguments  simply  to  persuade  these  com- 
mittees to  give  a  favorable  report  and  bring  the  question 
before  their  respective  Houses  for  debate,  have  comprised  the 
most  distinguished  this  country  has  produced.  It  is  only  by 
reading  their  addresses  in  the  "History  of  Woman  Suffrage" 
that  one  can  form  an  idea  of  their  masterly  exposition  of  laws 
and  constitution,  their  logic,  strength  and  often-times  deep 
pathos. 

There  are  in  the  pages  of  history  many  detached  speeches 
of  rare  eloquence  for  the  rights  of  man,  but  nowhere  else  is 
there  so  long,  unbroken  a  record  of  appeals  for  these  rights — 
the  rights  of  man  and  woman.  Again  and  again  at  the  close 
of  the  suffrage  hearings  the  chairman  and  members  of  the 
committee  have  said  that  none  on  other  questions  equalled 
them  in  dignity  and  ability.  From  1878  to  1896  there  were 
five  favorable  majority  reports  from  Senate  committees  and 
two  from  House  committees,  and  nine  adverse  reports.  After 
this,  when  Miss  Anthony  no  longer  spent  her  winters  in  Wash- 
ington, none  of  any  kind  was  made  until  the  movement  for 
woman  suffrage  entered  a  new  era  in  1914. 

One  significant  event,  however,  occurred  during  this  time. 
Largely  through  the  efforts  of  Senator  Henry  W.  Blair,  of 
New  Hampshire,  the  resolution  for  a  i6th  Amendment  was 
brought  before  the  Senate.  After  a  long  and  earnest  discus- 
sion the  vote  on  January  25,  1887,  resulted  in  16  ayes,  all 
Republican;  34  noes,  u  Republican,  23  Democratic;  26  absent. 

It  soon  became  apparent  to  the  leaders  of  the  movement 
that  there  would  have  to  be  a  good  deal  of  favorable  action 
by  the  states  before  Congress  would  give  serious  consideration 
to  this  question,  and  therefore  under  the  auspices  of  the 
national  organization,  they  have  continuously  helped  with  money 
and  work  the  campaigns  for  securing  the  suffrage  by  amend- 
ment of  state  constitutions.  Miss  Anthony  herself  took  part 


26o  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

in  seven  such  campaigns,  only  to  see  all  of  them  end  in  failure. 
Up  to  1910  there  had  been  at  least  twenty  and  only  two  had 
been  successful— Colorado,  1893;  Idaho,  1896;  Wyoming  and 
Utah  had  come  into  the  Union  with  equal  suffrage  in  their 
constitutions,  but  all  were  sparsely  settled  states  whose  influ- 
ence on  Congress  was  slight.  Commercialism  had  become  the 
dominating  force  in  politics  and  moral  issues  were  crowded 
into  the  background. 

In  1910  an  insurgent  movement  developed  in  Congress  and 
extended  into  various  states  to  throw  off  the  party  yoke  and 
adopt  progressive  measures.  One  of  its  first  fruits  was  the 
granting  of  suffrage  to  women  in  the  state  of  Washington. 
Under  the  same  influence  the  women  of  California  were  enfran- 
chised in  1911,  a  far-reaching  victory.  In  1912  Oregon,  Arizona 
and  the  well-populated  state  of  Kansas  adopted  woman  suffrage. 
In  1913  the  Legislature  of  Alaska  gave  votes  to  women,  and 
that  of  Illinois  granted  all  the  suffrage  possible  without  a 
referendum  to  the  electors,  including  municipal,  county  and 
that  for  presidential  electors.  In  1914  Nevada  and  Montana 
completed  the  enfranchisement  of  women  in  the  western  part 
of  the  United  States,  over  a  third  of  the  whole  area. 

The  effect  upon  Congress  of  the  addition  of  this  vast  body 
of   between   three   and    four   million   women   to    the   electorate 
was  immediately  apparent.     A    woman   suffrage   amendment   to* 
the  federal  constitution  had  suddenly  become  a  live  issue.     The 
national  association  appointed  a  committee  to  remain  in  Wash- 
ington and  look  after  its  interests.     In  1913  a  new  organization 
was   formed,  the  Congressional  Union,  whose   sole   object  was  i 
to  work   for  the  success   of  this   amendment.     A  circumstance  * 
greatly  in  its   favor  was  the  shattering  of  the  traditional  idea 
that  the  federal  constitution  must  not  be  further  amended,  by 
the  adoption  of  two  new  articles — for  an  income  tax  and  the 
election  of  United  States  Senators  by  popular  vote. 

At  the  opening  of  the  63d  Congress  the  chairmanship  of 
the  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage  instead  of  being  filled  by 
an  "anti,"  as  heretofore,  was  given  to  Senator  Charles  S. 
Thomas,  of  Colorado,  always  an  ardent  suffragist,  and  a 
friendly  committee  was  appointed.  There  were  now  eighteen 
members  of  the  Senate  with  women  constituents  and  several 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  261 

million  women  were  eligible  to  vote,  so  that  it  was  possible  to 
bring  to  bear  a  pressure  which  had  never  before  existed. 
Many  of  the  large  newspapers'  and  a  considerable  public  senti- 
ment had  now  become  favorable.  The  committee  reported  the 
bill  with  but  one  dissenting  voice.  The  extended  discussion 
was  conducted  by  Senator  Henry  F.  Ashurst,  of  Arizona,  and 
the  vote  on  March  19,  1914,  stood,  ayes,  35;  nays  34;  lacking 
ii  of  a  two-thirds  majority.  Twenty  Republicans,  I  Progressive 
and  14  Democrats  voted  aye;  12  Republicans  and  22  Democrats 
voted  no. 

The  struggle  to  secure  a  vote  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives was  long  and  difficult.  Many  committee  hearings  were 
held;  the  Democratic  caucus  declined  to  allow  it  to  come  be- 
fore the  House;  the  Judiciary  Committee  for  a  long  time 
refused  to  report  it  and  finally  did  so  without  recommendation. 
At  last,  however,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Hon.  Frank  W. 
Mondell,  of  Wyoming,  it  was  brought  to  a  vote  January  12, 
1915,  after  a  discussion  that  lasted  ten  hours — 174  ayes,  204 
noes.  Eighty-six  Democrats  and  88  Republicans  and  Pro- 
gressives voted  aye;  171  Democrats  and  33  Republicans  voted 
no. 

The  effort  will  continue  without  cessation  until  such  an 
amendment  is  submitted.  One  has  only  to  make  a  superficial 
study  of  campaigns  for  amending  state  constitutions  to  recog- 
nize the  cruel  burdens  they  put  upon  women.  If  after  all  the 
expenditure  of  labor,  time  and  money  they  had  a  fair  chance 
they  might  be  more  willing  to  undertake  the  task,  but  no  class 
striving  for  any  object  ever  faced  such  obstacles.  They  find  ' 
arrayed  against  them  the  corporate  interests  that  oppose  any 
further  increase  of  voters;  the  liquor  interests  with  their  vast 
capital  and  the  immense  number  of  votes  they  control;  all  the 
forces  of  evil  that  prey  on  society;  the  party  "machines"  that 
look  with  dread  on  this  new  element  in  politics;  the  large  body 
of  foreign  men  that,  come  from  countries  where  they  are  born 
and  bred  in  the  belief  of  woman's  inferiority,  and  that  large 
number  of  narrow-minded,  non-progressive  American  men  who 
believe  woman's  sphere  was  fixed  in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 

This  is  the  electorate  which  women  must  face  after  an 
effort  usually  of  years  to  persuade  the  Legislature  to  submit 


262  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

the  question.  They  must  strain  every  nerve  to  raise  the  neces- 
sary funds;  they  must  leave  their  homes  and  spend  months 
in  the  hardest  campaigning,  subject  to  humiliations  they  would 
not  meet  in  going  to  the  polls  for  a  life  time,  and  when  election 
day  comes  they  cannot  cast  a  single  vote  on  the  measure  for 
which  they  have  toiled.  An  adverse  majority,  no  matter  how 
small,  sends  them  back  to  the  very*  beginning  of  the  struggle. 

In  1914  there  were  four  campaigns  with  no  new  state  won  for 
equal  suffrage,  although  over  a  million  votes  were  cast  in  its 
favor.  American  men  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  a  franchise  which 
has  cost  them  nothing  whatever  have  no  right  to  require  this 
sacrifice  of  American  women.  They  should  demand  of  Congress 
the  submission  of  an  amendment  to  the  national  constitution 
which  will  free  women  from  the  unbearable  conditions  of  an 
appeal  to  the  individual  voters  with  their  secret  ballot,  and 
enable  them  to  carry  their  case  to  the  legislatures  and  have  it 
decided  there.  This  would  not  be  an  interference  with  states' 
rights,  for  the  question  would  be  decided  in  each  by  the  body 
elected  to  represent  the  people,  and  indirectly  by  the  men  of  the 
state,  for  they  alone  elect  the  legislature.  Suffragists  throughout 
the  country  have  become  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  situation 
and  henceforth  will  concentrate  their  forces  on  Congress  until 
it  submits  a  national  amendment. 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy.  56:  122-33.  November,  1914. 

Political    Equality    for    Women   and    Women's   Wages. 
S.   P.   Breckinridge 

An  examination  of  the  wage-scales  of  women  workers  brings 
out  two  striking  facts :  first,  the  wage  level  of  a  large  number 
of  women  is  conspicuously  below  the  level  which  would  make 
possible  competent  and  efficient  life;  second,  the  wage  level  of 
women  is  conspicuously  lower  than  the  wage  level  of  men. 

On  the  first  point,  reference  is  made  to  various  sources 
dealing  with  women's  wages  in  England,  such  as  the  report 
of  the  parliamentary  committee  on  home  work  in  1907,*  the 

1  Reports  of  Select  Committees  of  House  of  Commons  on  Home 
Work,  1907,  No.  290;  1908,  No.  246. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  263 

report  of  the  wages  boards  established  under  the  trade  boards 
act  of  IQO9,2  the  reports  of  the  bureau  of  labor  on  women  and 
child  wage  earners,3  the  reports  of  commissions  established  in 
several  states  to  consider  the  creation  of  minimum  wage  com- 
missions,4 and  the  reports  of  such  minimum  wage  commissions 
as  have  reported  determinations,  e.g.,  Massachusetts  and  Ore- 
gon.5 These  sources  furnish  material  relating  to  many  trades 
employing  women  and  girls  in  many  sections  of  the  country 
under  urban,  village  and  rural  conditions. 

In  support  of  the  second  statement  reference  is  made  to 
Sydney  Webb's  classic  study  of  women's  wages  made  in  1891  ;6 
to  the  report  of  the  royal  commission  on  labour;7  to  Miss 
Abbott's  study  of  women's  wages  in  America;8  and  the  various 
volumes  of  the  report  on  women  and  child  wage  earners  dealing 
with  the  cotton,  glass,  and  silk  industries,  the  sewing  trades, 
selected  metal  trades,  work  in  laundries,  and  a  number  of  other 
selected  occupations. 

The  testimony  of  all  this  evidence  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
wages  of  women  workers  range  from  about  one-third  to  about 
two-thirds  of  those  of  men.  As  will  appear  later,  this  generally 
does  not  mean  that  men  and  women  are  paid  at  these  different 
rates  for  doing  the  same  work,  but  what  appears  is  an  almost 
complete  separation  of  function  between  men  and  women,  with 
the  resulting  lack  of  opportunity  for  women's  employment  and 

2  Constance    Smith,    "Working   of   Trade   Board   Acts   in   Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,"   in   Journal   of  Political   Economy,   vol.   xxii, 
p.  605,  July,  1914. 

3  Senate  Doc.  No.  645,  61  Cong.,  2  sess. 

4  Massachusetts,  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Minimum  Wage 
Boards,    January,    1912.       (House    Doc.    No.    1697).      Boston,    1912. 
Oregon,  Industrial  Welfare  Commission.     Report  of  the  Social  Sur- 
vey Committee  of  the  Consumers'  League  of  Oregon  on  the  wages, 
hours,   and  condition  of  work,  and  cost  and  standard  of  living  of 
woman-wage-earners  in  Oregon,  with  special  reference  to  Portland. 
Portland,  1913,  Tip. 

5  Report    of    Massachusetts     Commission    on    Minimum    Wage 
Boards,  House  Doc.   (1912)  No.  1697.     For  Oregon  see  several  items 
in  The  Survey,   covering  various  groups  of  employes  in  Portland, 
and  in  the  state  at  large. 

6  Webb,    "Alleged   Differences   in   the   Wage   Paid  to   Men   and 
Women  for  Similar  Work,"  in  Economic  Journal,  vol.  i,  p.  635. 

7  Report   of   Royal  Commission   on   Labour    (Cd.    6894),    dealing 
with  Women's  Work. 

8  Abbott,  "Women  in  Industry,"  chap,  xii,  pp.  262-316;  Appendix 
C,  363-373. 


264  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

consequent  lower  level  of  pay  for  women.  Weaving  in  the 
cotton  and  silk  industries  forms  a  conspicuous  exception  and 
even  there  the  men  are  often  paid  either  at  a  higher  rate  on 
the  assumption  that  they  "tune"  or  "fix"  looms,  or  are  paid 
for  the  performance  of  certain  other  mechanical  duties  in 
addition  to  their  pay  as  weavers. 

The  question  is  raised  as  to  whether  the  exclusion  of  women 
from  political  power  is  a  factor  in  either  of  these  anti-social 
characteristics  of  women's  wages  and  whether  the  grant  of 
political  power  would  tend  to  secure  for  women  more  nearly 
a  living  wage,  to  raise  the  wages  of  women  more  nearly  to  an 
equality  with  the  wages  of  men.9  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
paper  to  set  forth  the  considerations  leading  to  a  belief  that 
there  is  an  important  connection  between  lack  of  political 
equality  and  this  double  under-payment  of  women  workers. 
That  connection  may  be  less  immediate  than  is  sometimes 
urged,  but  it  is  more  far-reaching,  more  determining  and  more 
important  than  is  often  understood.  Because  they  have  not 
taken  the  trouble  to  follow  the  arguments,  very  distinguished 
writers  have  made  foolish  and  ill-considered  statements  about 
the  lack  of  connection  because  of  the  finality  of  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand.  For  example,  Mr.  Dicey  in  a  serious  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject,10  quite  ignoring  the  fact  that  any  influence 
which  affects  either  item  in  ratio  of  demand  to  supply  affects  the 
ratio  itself,  says  cuttingly: 

Lastly,  it  is  asserted  that  the  possession  of  votes  will  increase 
the  earnings  of  women.  This  probably  is  of  itself  enough  to  enlist 
every  underpaid  and  underfed  seamstress  or  maid-of-all-work  in 
the  ranks  of  the  fighting-  suffragists.  The  plain  answer  to  it  is 

9  The  writer  is  aware   that  Mrs.    Sidney  Webb  does  not  agree 
with  the  claim  of  women  to  equal  pay.     It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into 
that  question  here,  since  Mrs.  Webb  is  a  suffragist  and  evidently 
believes  that  the  ballot  can  be  used  by  women  to  secure  a  more 
satisfactory  wage  level,  even  if  she  thinks  not  even  political  equal- 
ity will  enable  them  to  secure  a  reward  for  their  labor  determined 
by  purely  economic  considerations.     (See  The  New  Statesman,  Au- 
gust 22,  1914,  p.  613.)     It  is  interesting  to  recall  in  this  connection 
the  audience  recently  granted  by  Mr.  Asquith  to  the  deputation  of 
working  women  from  East  London.     Concerning  this,  the  English 
Nation  said  among  other  things:   "Even  more  influential  than  the 
force  of  direct  pressure  from  voters  will  be  the  new  habit  of  mind 
in  which  Parliament,  parties,  and  the  press  will  be  trained  when 
they  realize  that  in  fact  as  well  as  in  sentiment  women  are  half 
the  nation." 

10  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  ccix,  (No.  418),  p.  287,  January,  1909. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  265 

that  the  prediction,  if  it  means  (as  every  working  woman  under- 
stands it  to  mean)  that  a  vote  will  raise  the  market  value  of  a 
woman's  work,  is  false.  The  ordinary  current  price  of  labor  de- 
pends on  economical  causes,  and  is  not  affected  by  a  man's  or  a 
woman's  possession  of  the  parliamentary  franchise.  No  master 
raises  his  footman's  wages  because  the  man-servant  happens  to  be 
a  voter;  and  he  will  assuredly  not  raise  the  wages  of  his  housemaid 
because  he  finds  that,  under  some  Woman's  Enfranchisement  Act, 
she  has  got  her  name  placed  on  the  parliamentary  register.  Why, 
in  the  name  of  common  sense,  should  a  vote  confer  upon  a  woman 
a  benefit  which  it  has  never  conferred  upon  a  man?  We  have 
throughout  this  article  indeed  admitted  that  woman  suffrage  does 
increase  the  chance  of  Parliament  turning  its  attention  towards 
the  wishes  of  women,  and  thus  may  cause  any  grievance  under 
which  a  woman  suffers  to  be  the  more  speedily  removed.  But  this 
admission  is  a  totally  different  thing  from  the  assertion  that  a 
woman's  vote  will  raise  her  wages. 

The  wage  level  does,  of  course,  depend  on  "economical 
causes"  and  is,  of  course,  determined  by  the  relation  between 
the  demand  for  labor  and  the  supply  of  labor.  Whatever  in- 
fluence operates  to  lessen  the  supply  at  any  point  relatively  to 
the  demand  at  that  point  or  to  intensify  the  demand  relatively 
to  the  supply  will  set  in  motion  "economical  causes"  and  will 
operate  favorably  to  the  worker  as  compared  with  the  em- 
ployer ;  whatever  influence  increases  the  supply  at  any  point 
relatively  to  the  demand  or  weakens  the  demand  will  in  the 
same  way  operate  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  worker  at  that 
point  as  compared  with  the  employer.  Whatever  influence  leads 
to  decisions  based  on  social,  historical,  accidental  considerations 
rather  than  on  considerations  of  efficiency,  competence,  indus- 
trial capacity  operates  through  non-economical  causes  and  acts 
to  the  advantage  of  men  and  to  the  disadvantage  of  women, 
while  influences  bringing  about  decisions  based  on  considerations 
of  capacity  and  efficiency  operate  to  the  advantage  of  women. 
The  extent  to  which  the  wage  bargain  will  be  favorable  or 
unfavorable  to  any  group  of  workers,  as  compared  with  the 
employers,  will  depend  on  the  extent  to  which  (i)  the  workers 
do  or  do  not  possess  skill  of  a  high  industrial  or  professional 
character;  (2)  they  have  or  have  not  alternative  opportunities 
for  employment;  (3)  they  can  or  cannot  wait,  in  case  no  suit- 
able opportunity  offers ;  (4)  they  can  or  cannot  move  from 
place  to  place  in  search  of  employment;  (5)  they  have  or 
have  not  bargaining  strength  and  shrewdness ;  (6)  they  are 
or  are  not  conscious  of  a  .common  interest  and  able  to  act 
together. 


266  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

Before  discussing  more  at  length  these  factors  in  the  rela- 
tive strength  or  weakness  of  women  wage  earners,  certain 
distinctions  should  be  drawn  between  different  groups  of 
women  workers.  Because  of  the  very  recent  date  at  which  the 
thirteenth  census  (1910)  of  occupations  was  issued  (August, 
1914)  and  the  consequent  greater  familiarity  of  the  classifica- 
tion of  occupations  adopted  by  the  twelfth  census  (1900),  the 
latter  is  retained  for  the  purpose  of  this  discussion.  Accord- 
ing to  that  classification,  gainfully  employed  persons  were 
grouped  in  five  large  classes  of  occupations :  agriculture,  pro- 
fessional, domestic  and  personal  service,  trade  and  transpor- 
tation, manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits.  Of  the  agri- 
cultural women,  of  whom  in  1900  there  were  977,336,  and  in 
1910  apparently  1,807,050,"  we  know  little  as  to  wages  or  con- 
ditions of  employment.  Of  those  in  domestic  and  personal 
service,  of  whom  there  were  in  1900,  2,095,549  and  in  1910, 
2,620,857,  we  know  that,  in  1910,  156,235  (67,988  in  1900)  did 
not  earn  wages  but  offered  lodgings  or  took  boarders,  that 
1,595,449  (!,33O,692  in  1900)  held  positions  in  higher  or  lower 
forms  of  domestic  service,  an  occupation  whose  characteristic 
is  that  it  is  unstandardized,  i.e.,  one  employe  may  earn  high 
wages  under  excellent  living  and  working  conditions,  while 
another  is  a  drudge  and  a  "slavey"  under  wretched  conditions 
both  for  living  and  working. 

In  this  same  group  of  gainfully  employed  in  domestic  and 
personal  service  are  found  also  the  laundresses  and  waitresses. 
So  far  as  these  are  employed  under  conditions  of  domestic  em- 
ployment they  are  again  in  occupations  which  cannot  be  made  the 
subject  of  general  characterization.  So  far,  however,  as  they 
include  workers  in  power-laundries  or  in  "down-town  restaur- 
ants," they  can  be  grouped  for  purposes  of  discussing  their  wages 
with  the  groups  in  trade  and  transportation  and  in  manufacturing 
and  mechanical  pursuits.  In  these  groups,  employing,  in  1900, 
1,816,015  and  in  1910  2,974,447  women,  the  position  of  both  men 
and  women  wage-earners  (individual)  is  disadvantageous  as 
compared  with  the  employer.  In  many  occupations  in  these 
groups  a  low  degree  of  skill  is  required,  the  workers  cannot 
wait  for  employment,  there  is  no  way  of  their  learning  the 

11  Thirteenth  Census,  Occupations  1910,  p.  54.  See  discussion  of 
probable  error  on  this  point. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  267 

state  of  the  labor  market,  and  in  bargaining  shrewdness  the 
workers  who  make  a  bargain  only  between  jobs  are  at  a  great 
disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  employer's  agent  who  bar- 
gains practically  all  his  working  life. 

Moreover,  women  are  often  at  a  real  disadvantage  as  com- 
pared with  men.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  admitted  that  they 
often  do  not  bring  the  same  degree  of  skill  or  occupational 
capacity.  They  wholly  lack  the  physique  for  certain  occupa- 
tions, such  as  construction  work  or  heavy  teaming.  By 
unanimous  social  judgment,  their  sex  disqualifies  them  for 
work  done  under  conditions  of  physical  exposure,  as  in  the 
underground  mining,  or  of  moral  peril,  as  in  saloons.  There 
are  few  or  no  technical  schools  for  them,  and  they  are  often 
from  lower  age  groups  and  add  immaturity  to  their  other 
disadvantages.  It  appears,  for  example,  that  in  1910,  83  per 
cent  of  the  gainfully  employed  males  were  over  21,  and  17 
per  cent  only  under  21 ;  while  only  66  per  cent  of  all  the  gain- 
fully employed  females  were  over  21,  and  33  per  cent  were 
under  that  age.  And  in  many  occupations  the  relative  pro- 
portion of  women  in  the  younger  age  groups  is  much  larger 
than  one-third.  For  example,  68  per  cent  of  the  female  em- 
ployes and  only  20  per  cent  of  the  male  employes  among  glove 
workers  are  under  21  years  of  age ;  among  the  candy  workers, 
68  per  cent  of  the  female  and  24  per  cent  of  the  male ;  among 
the  glass-workers,  57  per  cent  of  the  female  and  24  per  cent 
of  the  male;  in  soap  factories,  56  per  cent  of  the  female  and 
24  per  cent  of  the  male;  among  the  telephone  and  telegraph 
operators,  47  per  cent  of  the  female  and  21  per  cent  of  the 
male;  among  sales  persons  33  per  cent  of  the  female  and  17 
per  cent  of  the  male  employes  are  under  21  years  of  age, 
while  even  in  coal  mining  and  cotton  manufacture — with  glass, 
the  great  boy-employing  industries — the  figures  are,  in  coal, 
only  15  per  cent  of  the  males,  and  253  out  of  the  890  females 
or  28  per  cent  of  the  females  under  21  years  of  age,  and  in 
cotton,  48  per  cent  of  the  female  and  30  (29.9)  per  cent  of 
the  male  employes  in  these  lower  age  groups.  Obviously,  the 
facts  already  stated  demonstrate  that  women  are  at  a  disad- 
vantage in  the  labor  market  as  compared  with  men.  Attention 
should  be  called  also  to  the  fact  that  industry  and  trade  as 


268  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

organized  under  the  alleged  competitive  system  of  the  last 
century  are  wholly  in  the  hands  of  men  who  often  determine 
employment  from  considerations  of  propriety  rather  than  of 
efficiency,  deciding  that  certain  forms  of  employment  are  un- 
suitable to  women,  so  that  women  lack  not  only  opportunity 
but  inducement  to  qualify  themselves  better  for  highly  skilled 
work.  In  1900,  while  women  were  scheduled  in  295  out  of 
303  occupations,  86  per  cent  of  them  were  in  only  18.  In  1910, 
the  number  of  occupations  listed  is  a  longer  list  (428  instead 
°f  3°3  )>  but  82  per  cent  of  the  gainfully  employed  women  are 
found  in  only  19  of  the  occupations.12  The  ideals  of  a  feudal 
state  persist  in  shutting  them  out  of  the  higher  positions  in  the 
state,  the  church,  the  legal  profession,  and  the  positions  of 
corresponding  social  prestige  in  big  business.  They  lack,  in 
addition,  as  compared  with  men,  bargaining  capacity  and  the 
bargaining  habit,  and  the  habit  of  acting  together.  Boys 
"swap"  in  the  alley,  while  girls  care  for  the  baby;  men  meet 
each  other  in  the  saloon,  at  the  political  meeting,  in  the  street; 

12  Table  showing-  occupations  in  which  there  were  one  per  cent 
or  more  of  the  gainfully  employed  women. 

No.  women 

Name  of  occupants  engaged 

Farmers    257,706 

Farm  laborers  (home  farm) 1,176,585 

Dressmakers    and    seamstresses 447,760 

Millinery  and  millinery  dealers 122,447 

Textile    352,639 

Weavers  in  textile  industries 99,434 

Sewing  and  Sewing  Machine  Operators, 

Factory    231,206 

Tailors  and  tailoresses 163,795 

Telephone   operators 88,262 

Clerks   in   stores 111,594 

Saleswomen  257,720 

Teachers   478,027 

Teachers    of   music 84,478 

Boarding  and  lodging  house  keepers...  142,400 

Housekeepers  and  stewards 173,333 

Laundresses    520,004 

Midwives  and  nurses   (not  trained)....  117,117 

Servants   and   waitresses 1,309,549 

Bookkeepers  and  accountants 187,155 

Clerks  (not  in  stores) 122,665 

Stenographers  and  typewriters 263,315 


Total 6,707,191 

Total  gainfully  employed.  8,075,772 

Per  cent  of  total  in  19  occupations,  81.8  per  cent  or  78.1  (if 
instead  of  352,639  textile  operatives  99,434  weavers  in  textile  indus- 
tries be  taken). 


WOMAN   SUFFRAGE  269 

women  and  girl-workers  do  their  own  laundry,  make  their  own 
clothes,  trim  their  own  hats,  help  with  the  children,  spend 
their  non-working  hours  as  drudges,  or  eking  out  their  small 
earnings  by  their  domestic  accomplishments. 

The  first  result  on  women-workers  of  the  youth  of  so 
considerable  a  proportion  of  their  group,  of  the  domestic 
pressure  on  their  leisure  and  of  their  consequent  isolation,  is 
the  fixing  of  wages  in  the  occupations  into  which  they  are 
admitted  below  any  possible  level  of  competent  living.  This 
does  not  mean  that  they  supplement  their  wages  by  immoral 
practices,  but  that  with  all  the  industry  with  which  they  can 
use  their  non-working  hours,  they  are  still  tinder-clothed, 
under-housed,  under-fed,  without  adequate  provision  for 
normal  recreation,,  and  unable  to  bear  their  proper  share  of  the 
support  of  their  natural  dependents. 

The  second  result  is  the  payment  of  wages  not  so  much 
unequal  to  the  wages  of  men  but  different  from  the  wages  of 
men  to  an  extent  much  greater  than  the  difference  between  the 
economic  value  of  their  work  and  that  of  men  employes. 
That  is,  the  exploitation  of  women  in  these  groups  may  be 
regarded  as  the  exploitation  of  men  raised  at  least  to  the 
second  power.  It  is  on  that  account  that  department  store 
work,  telephone  service,  the  textile  industry,  cotton,  wool,  silk, 
candy-making,  brush-making,  corset-making,  and  many  other 
trades  employing  a  considerable  number  of  women  workers 
may  be  justly  charged  with  the  practice  of  a  double  exploi- 
tation. 

If  we  look  at  the  professional  occupations,  we  find  con- 
ditions somewhat  different  as  to  age  and  training.  Of  the 
women  lawyers  only  78  out  of  1,343  or  5  per  cent  are  under 
21,  of  men,  452  out  of  120,806  or  .003  per  cent  are  under  21, 
and  of  the  9,015  women  physicians  only  142  or  2  per  cent 
are  under  21,  of  142,117  men  only  312  or  .002  per  cent  are 
under  21.  Even  of  the  teachers,  only  79,032  out  of  476,864 
women  teachers,  16.6  per  cent,  are  under  21,  and  of  118,442 
men  teachers,  12,274  or  10.4  per  cent  are  in  this  age  group. 
But  in  these  lines  of  activity,  while  women  may  obtain  the 
training  and  are  more  mature,  they  too  must  face  the  fact  that 
the  opportunities  they  seek  are  controlled  largely  by  men.  If, 


270  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

as  has  been  said,  the  men  in  control  in  industrial  or  in  profes- 
sional affairs  were  themselves  dominated  by  industrial,  eco- 
nomic or  professional  considerations,  if  they  would  and  could 
give  the  opportunity  to  the  person  who  under  fair  competitive 
conditions  offered  the  best  terms,  women  would  have  no  com- 
plaint to  make  and  would  rely  on  industrial,  economic  .or 
professional  methods  for*  their  advancement;  but  the  reverse 
is  the  fact.  One  has  only  to  compare  the  relative  number  of 
men  and  women  graduates  from  our  colleges  bearing  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Chapters  with  the  relative 
number  of  fellowships  granted  to  men  and  women  students, 
or  the  relative  numbers  of  candidates  for  the  doctorate  taking 
degrees  with  high  rank  with  the  numbers  taken  on  to  college 
faculties,  to  perceive  something  of  the  disadvantage  under  which 
women  pursue  scholarship. 

At  the  one  end  of  the  scale  of  well-being  is  found  then 
exploitation  based  on  youth,  lack  of  training,  and  helplessness ; 
at  the  other,  exclusion.  Political  equality  is  therefore  invoked 
for  several  reasons,  and  in  order  to  accomplish  several  results 
among  which  will  be 'a  gradual  readjustment  of  the  wage  scale 
to  correspond  with  the  needs  of  rational  living  and  with  the 
payment  of  men. 

For  the  more  helpless  group,  the  political  enfranchisement  of 
women  inevitably  means  the  introduction  into  legislation  and 
governmental  action  of  considerations  with  which  women  have 
been  especially  concerned.  This  influence  must  and  will  work 
itself  out  more  conspicuously  in  connection  with  physical  con- 
ditions of  work,  the  limitation  of  the  working  day,  the  pro- 
hibition of  night  work  for  young  women,  and  the  maintenance 
of  sanitary  and  decent  conditions  of  work.  It  will,  however, 
inevitably  likewise  take  notice  of  the  significance  of  the  wage 
below  the  level  of  competent  and  wholesome  living  and  will 
attack  the  problem  by  setting  a  minimum  wage,  and  also  by 
raising  the  age  of  employment,  regulating  the  conditions  under 
which  "learners"  may  be  employed  and  paid,  and,  perhaps 
chiefly,  by  devoting  some  of  the  public  money  and  public  brains 
to  the  question  of  the  industrial  education  of  girls.  In  other 
words,  it  introduces  into  the  situation  influences  to  counteract 
those  forces  which  at  present  render  this  group  so  peculiarly 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  271 

weak  in  their  wage-bargains  both  as  compared  with  their  em- 
ployers and  with  possible  men  competitors. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  many  of  these  results  may  not  be 
gained  without  the  political  enfranchisement  of  women,  but 
they  will  be  gained  with  much  greater  difficulty  and  will  be  on 
the  whole  less  stable  and  final  without  than  with  the  ballot. 
The  state  cannot,  as  a  matter  of  mere  psychology,  get  the  best 
intelligence  of  its  women  devoted  to  these  problems  until  that 
intelligence  is  quickened  by  a  sense  of  full  responsibility.  But 
there  are  also  far  greater  gains  than  these  to  be  expected.  In 
the  case  of  the  professional  women,  access  to  political  power 
alone  opens  up  avenues  of  employment.  Women  in  the  civil 
service  will  seem  more  appropriate  when  the  votes  of  women 
are  of  concern  to  the  appointing  power.  The  women  appointed 
to  the  police  force,  the  women  appointed  on  the  school  board, 
the  women  put  upon  the  garbage  commission,  the  appointed 
head  of  the  public  welfare  bureau,  all  in  Chicago,  testify 
unmistakably  to  the  soundness  of  this  statement.  For  women 
lawyers  with  the  ballot  there  is  a  new  respect  shown  by  men. 
With  the  franchise  arise  legal  problems  peculiarly  affecting 
women  and  making  more  obviously  suitable  the  employment  of 
women.  If  the  votes  of  women  doctors  become  of  importance 
in  connection  with  questions  concerning  the  medical  profession, 
there  are  new  reasons  for  admitting  them  to  programs  of 
medical  societies  and  thus  new  avenues  are  opened  for  legiti- 
mate professional  publicity.  Perhaps  the  situation  confronting 
the  members  of  the  teaching  profession  is  most  clearly  illustra- 
tive, because  there  has  been  so  much  foolish  and  inapplicable 
discussion  of  the  femininization  of  the  public  schools,  based 
wholly  on  the  proportion  of  women  to  men  in  the  teaching 
group.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  no  more  masculine  organi- 
zation in  the  whole  community  than  the  public  school  system. 
Out  of  824  superintendents  in  cities  having  a  population  of 
5,000  and  over,  only  6  or  .007  per  cent  are  women,  of  whom 
only  one,  the  distinguished  superintendent  of  the  Chicago 
schools,  receive  as  much  as  $2,400  a  year,  while  363  or  44  per 
cent  of  men  superintendents  receive  that  amount  or  more.  Of 
the  high  school  principals  in  cities  of  5,000  or  over  only  72  out 
of  936  or  less  than  8  per  cent  are  women,  and  of  the  women 


272  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

only  6,  8  per  cent,  receive  as  much  as  $2,500,  while  of  the  864 
men  principals  205  or  23  per  cent  receive  that  or  a  larger 
amount  for  their  services.  Among  the  high  school  assistant 
principals,  285  in  number,  only  93  or  33  per  cent,  are  women. 

There  are,  to  be  sure,  a  number  of  women  county  superin- 
tendents of  schools,  and  in  a  few  cities  women  are  found  on 
the  boards  of  education.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  schools 
are  managed  by  men,  generally  with  as  great  interest  taken  in 
the  possibilities  of  political  gain  or  private  enrichment  as  in 
the  education  requirements  of  the  teachers  and  children.  This 
has  meant  the  inevitable  over-emphasis  on  expenditures  for 
buildings  and  grounds  in  which  real  estate  agents  have  influence 
and  on  choice  of  text  books  in  which  great  publishing  concerns 
have  interest,  and  lack  of  attention  to  the  due  compensation 
and  just  treatment  of  the  teachers.  Any  intelligent  and  honest 
scrutiny  of  the  problems  would  inevitably  bring  about  an 
equalization  of  the  salaries  between  men  and  women  which 
would  probably  be  accomplished  by  the  leveling  up  of  the 
women's  pay,  both  by  raising  of  the  wage-level  and  by  the 
promotion  of  a  much  larger  proportion  of  women  to  such 
positions  as  principalships  and  to  new  supervising  positions  of 
various  kinds.  But,  again  the  great  damage  results  not  so 
much  from  corruption  as  from  ignorance.  The  school  is  not 
only  the  great  educational  agency  of  the  community;  under 
our  compulsory  school  laws,  it  has  been  forced  to  assume  many 
functions  as  guardian  and  there  should  be  developed,  and 
would  be,  if  the  intelligence  of  the  teachers  and  of  the  women 
had  free  play,  cooperating  agencies  for  which  women  are  pecu- 
liarly qualified  by  nature  and  by  experience,  such  as  effective 
staffs  of  school  visitors  relating  the  home  to  the  school,  the 
school  to  the  home  and  both  to  other  resources  available  for 
the  service  of  the  children. 

There  would  therefore  result  the  opening  up  of  many  new 
lines  of  employment  for  which  women  are  particularly  fitted, 
which  would  relieve  the  congested  condition  of  the  teaching 
profession.  Analogous  results  are  to  be  expected  from  the 
enlightened  scrutiny  of  other  organizations.  Women  in  law 
with  political  power  back  of  them  see  in  a  new  way  the 
absurdity  of  handling  many  cases  as  they  are  handled  today. 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGE  273 

The  administration  of  criminal  justice,  the  management  of 
reform,  correctional  and  penal  institutions,  the  enforcement  of 
pure  food,  sanitary  and  labor  legislation  require,  if  competently 
done,  the  employment  of  many  women. 

In  these  two  ways,  then,  first,  by  getting  in  through  social 
legislation  under  the  minimum  fixed  by  such  unequal  bargain- 
ing and  thus  reducing  the  possibility  of-  exploitation  of  the 
weakest  workers,  and  second,  by  opening  new  avenues  of 
employment  in  public  service,  in  social  agencies,  in  professional 
relationships  and  thus  relieving  the  congestion  which  has  been 
so  great  a  disadvantage  to  the  women  workers  in  the  few  lines 
open  to  them,  the  wage-bargainer  who  is  too  weak  will  be 
fairly  protected,  the  fairly  competent  wage-bargainer  will  be 
given  new  bargaining  advantage.  The  protection  at  the  bottom 
brings  about  an  enforced  reasonableness  in  demand  and  an 
exclusion  from  supply  of  the  group  now  utilized,  not  so  much 
because  of  their  industrial  or  occupational  capacity  as  because 
of  their  economic  weakness — the  children  in  the  candy  trade, 
the  non-English  speaking  women  in  the  sewing  trades ;  the 
opening  up  of  opportunities  at  the  top  is  nothing  more  than  a 
lessening  of  supply  at  the  congested  points  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  residuum. 

Attention  may  be  called  in  this  connection  to  the  enactment 
of  minimum  wage  legislation  during  the  past  two  years.  Not 
only  have  the  industrial  states  of  the  East  and  Middle  West, 
Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  Ohio,  and  Wisconsin,  each  of  which 
has  a  considerable  body  of  protective  legislation  on  its  statute 
books,  taken  this  further  step  in  the  protection  of  its  women- 
workers,  but  the  non-industrial  western  states,  California,  Colo- 
rado, Oregon,  Utah  and  Washington,  all  of  which  are  equal 
suffrage  states,  have  thrown  this  protection  about  their  women  • 
wage-earners. 

Besides  this  aid  from  without,  political  equality  brings  a 
very  real  new  spiritual  power  whose  value  should  not  be 
ignored.  It  removes  an  occasion  for  humiliation  and  gives  a 
new  self-confidence  which  is  of  great  importance.  One  great 
difficulty  in  securing  advancement  for  girls  is  that  they  acquiesce 
in  the  general  judgment  as  to  their  inferiority.  Young  women 
who  are  most  contemptuous  regarding  the  ability  of  certain 


274  SELECTED   ARTICLES   ON 

young  men  will  still  feel  themselves  disqualified  in  some  mys- 
terious way  from  entering  the  profession  the  young  men  have 
successfully  entered.  "It's  good  wages"  (75  cents)  "for  a 
girl"  is  the  reply  when  the  girl-worker  is  asked  why  she  does 
not  get  as  much  as  the  boy  across  the  way  (85  cents).  Em- 
ployers take  girl-workers  because  they  are  more  easily  satisfied; 
"they  don't  ask  for-  a  raise."  Women  who  never  asked  for  the 
ballot,  who  never  "felt  the  need  of  it,"  confess  to  a  new  sense 
of  confidence  and  self-respect  when  they  have  had  it  bestowed 
on  them  and  a  new  courage  to  urge  upon  their  employer  the 
real  value  of  their  services. 

The  rapidity  with  which  these  results  will  be  brought  about 
will,  of  course,  vary  greatly  with  the  general  intelligence  of 
the  community,  both  men  and  women,  with  the  nature  and 
organization  of  employments  already  open  to  women,  with  the 
alertness  with  which  well-to-do  women  understand  the  situ- 
ation and  grasp  the  opportunity  to  cooperate  consciously  with 
the  economic  forces,  and  supplement  them  when  necessary  with 
legislation.  For  besides  removing  limitation  from  about  the 
spirits  of  women  with  reference  to  their  own  capacity  and  from 
about  the  minds  of  men  as  to  woman's  real  sphere,  political 
enfranchisement  obviously  places  in  the  hands  of  women  a 
labor  saving  device  of  great  possibility. 

It  is  a  device  with  which  they  can  accomplish  no  result  they 
have  not  the  brains  to  plan  and  the  courage  to  undertake.  As 
the  sewing  machine  and  the  needle  are  alike  useful  only  to 
those  persons  who  see  the  finished  garment  in  relation  to  the 
cloth,  so  the  ballot  as  an  instrument  can  only  aid — it  cannot 
serve  as  a  substitute  for  the  plan  already  formulated.  Those 
who  see  clearly  the  end  sought  and  who  therefore  desire 
urgently  to  possess  the  most  efficient  instrument  are  often  pre- 
vented by  their  very  eagerness  from  seeing  the  more  remote 
but  more  far-reaching  and  really  more  important  aspects  of 
the  claims  of  women  to  be  admitted  to  full  political  equality, 
because  of  the  important  bearing  of  their  political  or  their 
economic  status. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
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REC'D  LD 


APi!  32193 


frAYl    '64-iOAi.l 


*-r-n  3  o 


JUN  3    '64  -5PM 


rift 


NOV  U  (958 


9  '65  -4  PH 


REC'P 


JAHlfe'64"4pM 


rtfri 


MAR    7. 


LD  21-100m-7,'33 


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